[Mainland Chinese Drama 2018] The Story of Ming Lan 庶女明兰传 / 知否？知否？应是绿肥红瘦

[watchumlots]

EP 63 & 64 (64 partial Eng subs):

 

WOW!  MingLan should have been an attorney or military strategist.  She laid out the whole Aunt Kang sinister plot, including timelines.  "We were having dinner together and she send Mr. X to buy poison."  It was awesome!   Aunt Kang is a true sociopath and yes, it's her family's fault.  

 

That wishy-washy Sheng dad, he doesn't have two vertebrae that connect, he is more spineless than an octopus!  MingLan finally had the Kangs in a bind, and Wimpy let them out.  The matriarch of the family performed an end-run saying Aunt Kang would at most get exiled, so the Shengs can't kill her.  And what about Sheng's wife who was in on the murder scam too?  Matriarch is saying if one goes, they both go.  

 

LOVE the way Kang's maid/nanny tried to hustle her out of the house, kept interfering and making scenes during the family sit-down when the evidence was presented.  That gave MingLan reason to interject, else her mamby-pamby, spineless father would have just let everything go to have them all exit the house and end the mess.

 

Dyin' to get the subs for the second half of Ep 64, see what MingLan's hubby has to say.  

 

 

[m0us3y]

@hell59 @dito

I believe we are in for happy ending. 

So far, the sequence of events have been consistent with the background painting at the end credits. So if we go by that, it should end with them finally leaving the capital, for some peace and quiet..

 

It better be...

This is the first cdrama I watch while it's still airing, without knowing the ending...

I've always watched cdramas which have finished airing, just so to set my expectations...

Jumped into this just to check it out and the next thing I know, I'm waiting religiously every day for the new episodes 

[Suzzy San]

7 minutes ago, m0us3y said:

@hell59 @dito

I believe we are in for happy ending. 

So far, the sequence of events have been consistent with the background painting at the end credits. So if we go by that, it should end with them finally leaving the capital, for some peace and quiet..

 

It better be...

This is the first cdrama I watch while it's still airing, without knowing the ending...

I've always watched cdramas which have finished airing, just so to set my expectations...

Jumped into this just to check it out and the next thing I know, I'm waiting religiously every day for the new episodes 

Actually if they don't change it and don't put the actors in suspense like they did for PA, Feng shao feng already said it's a happy ending 

[minglan1]

Sprightly steps of QH rush into Cheng Garden defying family objections,societal norms.He has finally mustered enough courage to not care about anything except saving ML.

Luck has never been kind to him,before he can enter the inner room..crisis has already been averted.

 

He witnessess the happy family picture that resonate deep affection and an undying bond of care that binds the new family.

QH can only retrace his steps and douse the fire outside with the pail of water in hand..

He has truly become the outsider in ML's heart.The embers of first love that burn in his heart needs to cool down as well..

Life..his love all have moved on...It is time for him to step out from the past into the present.

 

 

[sava2sava]

16 hours ago, Jackie1048 said:

Auntie Kang's husband was not involved in the negotiation of the poison incident because if he knew he will divorce Auntie Kang for sure.

@Jackie1048  Of course he would have divorce her, It seems to me that he's looking for a good enough reason to divorce her.. One would think the selling of his children would be enough guess not.. With Auntie Kang having the finale say in the Shu daughters marriages.. I thought ML should have brought all the money she has rip off BMain Mother (Danning) and how she tried to have one of the Shu daughters kill herself in her home all so she could sue her husband for money.. 

 

8 hours ago, matrim said:

Have to applaud Old Madam Wang, another master manipulator, whose silver tongue not only confused SH, but almost caused ML to lose ground

@matrim  Yes by looking at that scene one could tell she was loosing ground.. Sh should be slap, I still don't see how he made it to be a court official dumg as he is.. No wonder he and Danning or a perfect match they both easly manipulated.. ML had to que him in on the matters before he even entered the hall.. Also she gave him expanations of what they would say and do if not for her he wouldn't have a clue as to what to do.. Also I could see why Aunt Kang hates concubine born children.. Big Mdm must have really talk bad in front of her about them and may have some choice words and ideas for Aunt Kang about all the Shu daughters her husband bore that old Mdm and brother had to help her take care of them due to her lousy husband..   I mean they really look down on concubine children telling ML she hsd no right to be there or speak.. Happy to see SH speak up for concubine born children being he's also one which make me think they talked bad about him also behind his back..

 

8 hours ago, Lunkera said:

@dito Probably because one wrpng move can cost him his status or even his life. If ED is after GTY, she won't spare his relatives most likely, doesn't matter that they are against him. In those eras it was safer and better to pull the weed of by it roots.

you explained it right in point @Lunkera  ED would have killed them all and the new born of ML.. ED isn't stupid she don't want any trouble to come back and bite her in the rear.

7 hours ago, leeza77 said:

Excerpt fr tonight episode

http://p.weibo.com/show/channerWbH5/1034:4337168248933766

OH a handsome lil fella

[minglan1]

33 minutes ago, watchumlots said:

EP 63 & 64 (64 partial Eng subs):

 

WOW!  MingLan should have been an attorney or military strategist.  She laid out the whole Aunt Kang sinister plot, including timelines.  "We were having dinner together and she send Mr. X to buy poison."  It was awesome!   Aunt Kang is a true sociopath and yes, it's her family's fault.  

 

That wishy-washy Sheng dad, he doesn't have two vertebrae that connect, he is more spineless than an octopus!  MingLan finally had the Kangs in a bind, and Wimpy let them out.  The matriarch of the family performed an end-run saying Aunt Kang would at most get exiled, so the Shengs can't kill her.  And what about Sheng's wife who was in on the murder scam too?  Matriarch is saying if one goes, they both go.  

 

LOVE the way Kang's maid/nanny tried to hustle her out of the house, kept interfering and making scenes during the family sit-down when the evidence was presented.  That gave MingLan reason to interject, else her mamby-pamby, spineless father would have just let everything go to have them all exit the house and end the mess.

 

Dyin' to get the subs for the second half of Ep 64, see what MingLan's hubby has to say.  

 

 

Clever madam Wang had to end up with 2 muddled daughters.She should be cursing fate to not have given her a smart girl like ML instead.

[Suzzy San]

22 minutes ago, minglan1 said:

The sprightly steps of QH rush into Cheng Garden defying family objections,societal norms.He has finally mustered enough courage to not care about anything else except saving ML.

Luck has never been kind to him before he can enter the inner room..the crisis has already been averted.

 

He can only witness the happy family picture that resonate deep affection and an undying bond of care that binds the new family.

QH can only retrace his steps and douse the fire outside with the  pail of water in his hand..

He has truly become the outsider in ML's heart.The embers of the first love that burns in his heart needs to cool down as well..

Life..his love all have moved on...It is time for him to step out from the past into the present.

 

 

I was so happy when he went to save her, like my gracious heart was over the top, and for that time I just want to hug him that he has done well.. When GTY went to thank him, he was so surprised and he finally realized that everything is not what people make it to be.. I'm glad they somehow gave QH a peace of mind in the drama.. And somehow this made him a little bit closer to his wife.. So proud of his developments

[m0us3y]

@watchumlots the recent episodes with the grandma poisoning incident really showed it's who could raise the stakes higher, who's willing to throw away more. 

 

As ML aptly put it, "In life, it's always about who's willing to sacrifice more. Father, DaNiang, Kang Family, Wang Family all dare not, but I do"...

 

Just like a game of poker. None of them seems to be holding good cards, as everyone has a bit to lose. 

After a while it became a game of dare and Double dare, to see who would fold first. 

 

Old Mdm Wang is indeed quite a schemer herself, and she caught ML on her one weakness- the children. She always believed that children should not be implicated or pay for the mistakes the parent makes, but Old Mdm Wang puts all Sheng's kids at stake, which made her so mad because one thing she couldn't bear to do would be to destroy the brother and sisters life. 

Thank god ChangBai came home in time, and raised the stakes even higher by putting his own career on the line, which forced Old Mdm Wang to fold her cards. 

 

There were a few witty comebacks by ML and GTY which I thought was hilarious though! 

- When Old Mdm Wang played the caring elderly card on SH, ML merely said "oh, so it turns out you have done us such a big favour including raising my Father and mentoring him to his career great heights", to remind SH that it was grandma that raised him! 

- When Old Mdm Wang tried to send ML away saying that she's a married daughter hence should not meddle in Sheng issues, GTY responded "If so, why are you here?"

BURNNNN! 

Old Mdm Wang reaction on both times were priceless! 

[Sirry Usly]

Ugh I love this cdrama but at the same time ahhhh!!! It's literally one thing after the other. I really hope they have a happy ending. Also, there were so many witnesses for the house fire and the stabbing so I honestly don't understand how they are still able to frame GTY. It doesn't make sense to me. It would make more sense if he was arrested for not reporting to the emperor first rather than killing that evil wicked woman. Ugh I just want all the evil characters to have tragic deaths so I can laugh in happiness. My god if I was Minglan I probably won't have the strength to go on dealing with all of this. Literally her whole life and GTY whole life people have been plotting against them. Do people not get tried? How do you make it your life's work to destroy someone? 

[Suzzy San]

I finally get why the Wang family can appear in court, so it seems the father is dead but before he died he was one of the most important official that has received a lot of accolades for his good deeds for the nation, so I think in addition to getting help from the Ed, they also used the many deeds the dead father did for the nation to get an audience and to make people pay attention to their crappy complaints.. So sad that the father did good but his generations just ruined his deeds for bad things.. Like the father was even given privilege to be worshipped in the royal ancestral hall.. Omg.. They definitely are very close to imperial.. Grandma already envisioned that GTY will kill Kang auntie and it will lead to political obstacles.. Wow Sheng grandma is really so clever.. I love how she called GTY a man with violent temper and ML someone that holds grudges.. Truly the power couple 

[Suzzy San]

1 hour ago, m0us3y said:

@watchumlots the recent episodes with the grandma poisoning incident really showed it's who could raise the stakes higher, who's willing to throw away more. 

 

As ML aptly put it, "In life, it's always about who's willing to sacrifice more. Father, DaNiang, Kang Family, Wang Family all dare not, but I do"...

 

Just like a game of poker. None of them seems to be holding good cards, as everyone has a bit to lose. 

After a while it became a game of dare and Double dare, to see who would fold first. 

 

Old Mdm Wang is indeed quite a schemer herself, and she caught ML on her one weakness- the children. She always believed that children should not be implicated or pay for the mistakes the parent makes, but Old Mdm Wang puts all Sheng's kids at stake, which made her so mad because one thing she couldn't bear to do would be to destroy the brother and sisters life. 

Thank god ChangBai came home in time, and raised the stakes even higher by putting his own career on the line, which forced Old Mdm Wang to fold her cards. 

 

There were a few witty comebacks by ML and GTY which I thought was hilarious though! 

- When Old Mdm Wang played the caring elderly card on SH, ML merely said "oh, so it turns out you have done us such a big favour including raising my Father and mentoring him to his career great heights", to remind SH that it was grandma that raised him! 

- When Old Mdm Wang tried to send ML away saying that she's a married daughter hence should not meddle in Sheng issues, GTY responded "If so, why are you here?"

BURNNNN! 

Old Mdm Wang reaction on both times were priceless! 

That old Madam Wang is evil herself, if we know her story she might even be worse than step mom. She kept saying ' virtuous son-in-law', bullcrap . So innocent looking but so evil in heart.. Just because she favors a daughter over the other.. I really felt so sad for our big Madam at Sheng.. She trusted her family too much and she was so naive to not know that grandma has always been in her favor.. And like ML said, she raised awesome and clear minded kids.. 

ML x GTY are such a savage couple.. I love them 

[shihuangdi]

OK, we now have an additional evil here. That old madam Wang. I mean how could she just throw her other daughter under the bus just to save her favourite daughter? And not just her daughter but also her grandchildren as well 

 

good thing chang bai is very righteous. Compare that to the cousin (kang’s son), who tried to make excuse for his mother and then even asked how danniang should be punished. 

[shihuangdi]

2 hours ago, dito said:

 

I don't know about the drama but in the book they sent Kang Aunt to a prison for women or something. Confinement and hard labor....cutting wood, washing laundry,etc. So I suppose it was official. But Da niang's part was kept secret. 

 

I just watched ep 64 with sub. I think in the end, the Shengs just solve the matter internally instead of bringing it to court as CB orginally intended. So, I guess it makes a bit more sense that the people at the court are unaware about Aunt Kang evil deeds. They just thought an innocent woman was stabbed to dead at GTY residence. 

[nichiwoohee]

Y’all talking about traumatized by PA (thankfully I stopped watching after CQ got poisoned) while I’m over here still confused how they could made a whole new story with princess weiyoung... the male lead not even the same 

[m0us3y]

Spoiler

1 hour ago, minglan1 said:

The sprightly steps of QH rush into Cheng Garden defying family objections,societal norms.He has finally mustered enough courage to not care about anything except saving ML.

Luck has never been kind to him,before he can enter the inner room..crisis has already been averted.

 

He witnessess the happy family picture that resonate deep affection and an undying bond of care that binds the new family.

QH can only retrace his steps and douse the fire outside with the pail of water in hand..

He has truly become the outsider in ML's heart.The embers of first love that burn in his heart needs to cool down as well..

Life..his love all have moved on...It is time for him to step out from the past into the present.

 

Nicely put @minglan1. It feels like QH finally learning to let go. It's good to see that he's not beyond redemption in his stubbornness to pursue his love. 

More importantly, he seems to have taken ML's words on cherish the one he has...his wife. 

She's really not a bad person, and only wished to be loved, or at least be seen by her husband..

I reckon by witnessing GTY-ML being happy despite all the havoc has also doused the fire in him to want ML to himself. Perhaps a realisation that GTY is willing to sacrifice his all for her too...

 

Spoiler

10 minutes ago, Suzzy San said:

That old Madam Wang is evil herself, if we know her story she might even be worse than step mom. She kept saying ' virtuous son-in-law', bullcrap . So innocent looking but so evil in heart.. Just because she favors a daughter over the other.. I really felt so sad for our big Madam at Sheng.. She trusted her family too much and she was so naive to not know that grandma has always been in her favor.. And like ML said, she raised awesome and clear minded kids.. 

ML x GTY are such a savage couple.. I love them 

 

She's no doubt bias towards Mdm Kang vs other kids, and hence helped her to get out of trouble all the time. I'm not sure if she is totally evil tho...

Felt Mdm Kang also played the guilt card with her mom, that whilst she married into a reputable noble family, it was a loveless marriage, with a philandering husband. 

So the mum felt more compelled to protect her from more harm since she essentially didn't marry well, since marriage is almost everything for a woman then.

She probably planned for Mdm Kang's marriage more than her other children's, but fate played a joke on them, or God has better plans, so no matter how much she planned, the marriage didn't turn out well.  

Personally, I don't see her as evil. She just loved her daughter the wrong way, and that love has spoiled her which led Mdm Kang to be who she is today, and that love has resulted in her covering for the daughter time and again.

In the end, Old Mdm Wang's love destroyed Mdm Kang

[Suzzy San]

Omg omg  wow GTY is such a savage scary man, when he is silent, you should fear, when he talks, you should fear the more.. The old Wang was saying our grandma didn't die.. Then GTY that has been silent all along said, 'you said it wrongly, there are a lot of ways for dying, our grandma is an healthy woman that should have lived for 118 years but now she can only live for 108'.. That was so on point and he puts them all in a corner at once.. Wow, if it's left with GTY, the Kang auntie will surely die while on banishment, if they don't want him to kill her openly 

[minglan1]

32 minutes ago, m0us3y said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Nicely put @minglan1. It feels like QH finally learning to let go. It's good to see that he's not beyond redemption in his stubbornness to pursue his love. 

More importantly, he seems to have taken ML's words on cherish the one he has...his wife. 

She's really not a bad person, and only wished to be loved, or at least be seen by her husband..

I reckon by witnessing GTY-ML being happy despite all the havoc has also doused the fire in him to want ML to himself. Perhaps a realisation that GTY is willing to sacrifice his all for her too...

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

She's no doubt bias towards Mdm Kang vs other kids, and hence helped her to get out of trouble all the time. I'm not sure if she is totally evil tho...

Felt Mdm Kang also played the guilt card with her mom, that whilst she married into a reputable noble family, it was a loveless marriage, with a philandering husband. 

So the mum felt more compelled to protect her from more harm since she essentially didn't marry well, since marriage is almost everything for a woman then.

She probably planned for Mdm Kang's marriage more than her other children's, but fate played a joke on them, or God has better plans, so no matter how much she planned, the marriage didn't turn out well.  

Personally, I don't see her as evil. She just loved her daughter the wrong way, and that love has spoiled her which led Mdm Kang to be who she is today, and that love has resulted in her covering for the daughter time and again.

In the end, Old Mdm Wang's love destroyed Mdm Kang

ML,GTY matured.Only QH was left...looks like he is also growing up and pruning his prejudiced view. I am curious to see how he behaves in the frame up of GTY.The case most likely will be pushed to him.

Madam Wang went over the edge with her blind love for Aunt Kang.Shen Hong said it correctly that her daughter's brazen attitude towards life was due to her family covering up deaths she caused.

 

[Suzzy San]

5 minutes ago, minglan1 said:

ML,GTY matured.Only QH was left...looks like he is also growing up and pruning his prejudices view. I am curious to see how he behaves in the frame up of GTY.The case most likely will be pushed to him.

Madam Wang went over the edge with her blind love for Aunt Kang.Shen Hong said it correctly that her daughter's brazen attitude towards life was due to her family covering up deaths she caused.

 

Thankfully I think that GTY went to have a sincere talk with him before the frame up after he helped with the fire.. I think they both talked a lot and GTY was like does he now understand things better and QH expression was like he gets it all now.. So I hope he will also help the emperor now too.. 

[linhlinh111]

8 hours ago, Golden Flower said:

 

@mooose I was talking about drama making Molan and Liang Hang affair to having sexual relationship in the storage room of famous temple, spiritual place which is usually busy with official and noble families visiting, not only once but a few times (though not mentioned exact meeting times, it was meeting every 2-3 days for a few times to the point of Molan is sure of being pregnant). Even if Lin Yiniang helping arrange and cover for Molan, other people like Daniang, RL, grandma not noticing Molan who was supposed to be confined at home disappear for a few hours for a few times and not being noticed by anyone at the temple in that era is a bit too unreasonable. Having been carried by a man at that time is enough to ruin a girl's reputation. They just wanna dramatize Molan being caught by SH. 

 

 

Yes someone finally said it. This scene is so wrong in so many levels it doesn't even make any sense at all. First, in ancient time no families with status could accept a non-virgin main wife, not to mention a pregnant one. This is an absolute no-no, non-negotiable. The only solution in that situation would be to drown Molan to preserve the family's reputation, or a forced abortion and grounded for the rest of her life would be the lightest punishment. Molan and CL should understand that very clearly and if they ever wanted Molan to be married off as a main wife then they are not dumb enough to pull that trick. In the book she pretended to fall into the pond and the Liang's son saved her, thus seeing her in wet transparent clothes. Being hugged is enough to throw her reputation off the balcony, but it is still within the acceptable scope for Grandma to negotiate and blackmail the Marquis. But losing her virginity is too big for any of Grandma's cards to work. When I was watching that scene I was like, WTF? Why didn't they keep it like the book this is so illogical.

[doubleicon]

I shed tear when Minglan cried to Grandma when she woke up, saying how she wanted to slice aunt kang up ffor hurting Grandma while she was alone. Truly the highlight of this series is all the relationships outside of GTY/ML. ML and Xiotou, ML and Grandma, ML and Empress. This series has been a treat.