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

[ForgottenSoulx]

5 minutes ago, dito said:

 

There were lots of great scenes between little ML and granny in the book. I'll write down a few I remember....

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ML got very sick after her mom died and the maids alloted to her by Lin Niang didn't take care of her properly, even not feeding her properly....The doctor told them her body was malnourished or something thats why she's taking so long in getting better. When granny took over her care ML barely ate any food.... Granny due to her old age and poor health was used to a very bland diet and little ML after she recovered from her illness became very weak and thin.....So granny ordered her kitchen to make stuff that children like....so that ML would want to eat the food. After a while granny's personal maid realized that having ML around was making the granny feel better...even her health got better .So she approved of ML and looked after her even more.

Even though granny was still a little strict but whenever at night ML sometimes had nightmares so she would sneak into bed with the granny and granny would cuddle her to sleep together.

When the Palace Momo, who was granny's friend came to teach the girls etiquette and stuff....granny asked her what she thought of her granddaughters...the momo replied one of the girls is very bright....must be the one you're raising? 

This happened in epi 8 but in the book it happened when ML was still little. After that granny started teaching ML more stuff by herself.

ML realized that because of the granny she might have a good life in the future so she started making sure she followed granny's every teaching and make her proud.

Even QH's mom complimented ML when she first met her.

These all took place when ML was still little........I can't remember exactly but I think some of these might be in the chapters that have been translated in english. I should go back and read again.....

 

 

Omg some of that sounds so amazing i really wish we see that if not im a little sad the granny is a angel. 

[BreezeC]

I am enjoying this so far, even if the main characters are not on screen, I am enjoying many of the minor characters, especially the first wife in Minglan's family. She is funny. Most of the head of the household are really jerk (Minglan's father, GTY's father etc...) but you can really feel the emphasis and unfairness of status and rankings in their society. It is actually quite refreshing to not see any triangle love story or too forced OTP plot.  QH and ML's story can't process further because of their background and social status difference, not because of some misunderstanding or turning the second lead into a jerk to make way for the male lead. The main OTP story can't start yet because we have to see their hardship and situations they are in before appreciating them finally coming together. QH is too perfect, too bright, too high. If he felt in love with a girl with similar status as him, his life could be a fairy tale but he felt in love with Minglan and that is his own pain that he had to live with for the rest of his life. GTY is flawed because his upbringing and circumstances, shaped him into a rebellious character that was able to see the worst side of this society but the most precious thing is that he understands MingLan. I watched only up to episode 7 and didn't read the novel so I do not know why ML choose GTY but personality wise, if you have GTY and QH both equally loving you, GTY will be the better choice for ML because I can see him fighting and defending her to the point of going up against anyone or giving up anything. QH could probably try to do the same for her but he is just too trapped and restricted to do anything. So yeah, status and upbringing really does matter in this case. 

[hello210]

4 hours ago, BreezeC said:

I am enjoying this so far, even if the main characters are not on screen, I am enjoying many of the minor characters, especially the first wife in Minglan's family. She is funny. Most of the head of the household are really jerk (Minglan's father, GTY's father etc...) but you can really feel the emphasis and unfairness of status and rankings in their society. It is actually quite refreshing to not see any triangle love story or too forced OTP plot.  QH and ML's story can't process further because of their background and social status difference, not because of some misunderstanding or turning the second lead into a jerk to make way for the male lead. The main OTP story can't start yet because we have to see their hardship and situations they are in before appreciating them finally coming together. QH is too perfect, too bright, too high. If he felt in love with a girl with similar status as him, his life could be a fairy tale but he felt in love with Minglan and that is his own pain that he had to live with for the rest of his life. GTY is flawed because his upbringing and circumstances, shaped him into a rebellious character that was able to see the worst side of this society but the most precious thing is that he understands MingLan. I watched only up to episode 7 and didn't read the novel so I do not know why ML choose GTY but personality wise, if you have GTY and QH both equally loving you, GTY will be the better choice for ML because I can see him fighting and defending her to the point of going up against anyone or giving up anything. QH could probably try to do the same for her but he is just too trapped and restricted to do anything. So yeah, status and upbringing really does matter in this case. 

I agree. That’s a really good assessment of the drama so far and I’m really liking it. This production has done a really good job of showing the dynamics of each character and the society. I can totally see how the two main characters fit together because of the circumstances of how they were raised. GTY helping ML when her mom was dying and that scene at the docks totally foreshadowing.  Ep 8 really explains a lot about how GTY’s character turned out the way he did. It also reminds me of the saying in western romance novels, “Reformed Rakes make the best husbands”. GH is too trapped by his status and his gentleness so he won’t be able to give the protection that ML would need. 

[dito]

6 hours ago, BreezeC said:

I am enjoying this so far, even if the main characters are not on screen, I am enjoying many of the minor characters, especially the first wife in Minglan's family. She is funny. Most of the head of the household are really jerk (Minglan's father, GTY's father etc...) but you can really feel the emphasis and unfairness of status and rankings in their society. It is actually quite refreshing to not see any triangle love story or too forced OTP plot.  QH and ML's story can't process further because of their background and social status difference, not because of some misunderstanding or turning the second lead into a jerk to make way for the male lead. The main OTP story can't start yet because we have to see their hardship and situations they are in before appreciating them finally coming together. QH is too perfect, too bright, too high. If he felt in love with a girl with similar status as him, his life could be a fairy tale but he felt in love with Minglan and that is his own pain that he had to live with for the rest of his life. GTY is flawed because his upbringing and circumstances, shaped him into a rebellious character that was able to see the worst side of this society but the most precious thing is that he understands MingLan. I watched only up to episode 7 and didn't read the novel so I do not know why ML choose GTY but personality wise, if you have GTY and QH both equally loving you, GTY will be the better choice for ML because I can see him fighting and defending her to the point of going up against anyone or giving up anything. QH could probably try to do the same for her but he is just too trapped and restricted to do anything. So yeah, status and upbringing really does matter in this case. 

You have exactly defined how both guys are different and why ML would reject one and accept the other despite her many misgivings. ML closed herself off after her mother died and has been living her life completely hiding herself. And no one sees that....except granny and GTY later on.

 

[dito]

I'm adding a few paragraphs from the book to show that Granny understands how ML thinks and what ML thinks about QH.

This scene happened after QH ate lunch with them at granny's invitation. ML's maid had noticed QH paying attention to ML and so she asked ML to change her hair style to a more grown up look. 

Spoiler

Minglan turned towards her, and saw that Danju had the expression of a caring older sister. She lowered her voice and said with seriousness, “I know that big sister has good motivations, but you need to consider more. He’s the son of aristocracy and nobility runs through his blood. I’m only the concubine born daughter of a senior official. Above me, there is a legitimate daughter and an even more eligible concubine born daughter. If I carelessly act intimate with him, it would only cause trouble later on.”

First of all, Qi Heng wasn’t related to her. Second, he wasn’t an old friend of hers. And finally, there was no way he could marry her. Was there truly a way for two people to have a pure “friendship” in this traditional age bogged down by strict etiquette? Even if he became her brother-in-law, she would have to keep him at a distance to avoid any misunderstandings. She couldn’t think of any good things that could come out of having a good relationship with this guy. In fact, there were so many dangerous outcomes associated with him. One wrong step, and she would have alerted her two lovesick older sisters, and they would just kill her.

Minglan looked at Danju for a bit, then said quietly, “Of course, I know that Older Sister Danju is thinking of my own good. But now that we’re growing older bit by bit everyday, I must make some things clear to you.”

“As young ladies, our reputations are the most important. Just a few words and rumors can ruin our lives. My status is such that I can live comfortably only with the generosity and kindness from the Old Madame. It doesn’t matter if it’s for my own sake, or if it’s out of consideration for the Old Madame, I must make sure that every one of my actions adhere to custom and etiquette. Even if I can’t give the Old Madame honor, I must make it so that no word or action of mine will bring her shame!”  

 

cr.rebirth.online

 

This happened right after the above scene. It tells us why granny actually invited QH to the lunch....she's such a smart lady.

Spoiler

As soon as Fang Mama came into the room, she smiled and said, “Old Madame’s eyesight isn’t good. Why don’t we call the Sixth Young Miss in here and read the Buddhist script for you? Her voice is pretty and very catchy, even I like to hear her recite.”  

Old Madame Sheng smiled. “Let her sleep. Children need to sleep more in order to grow. Besides, she’s been troubled in her thoughts recently, quandaries fill her mind. So, let her rest.”  

Fang Mama lightly laughed as she listened to this. “Today I know that when Young Master Qi came to eat, Old Madame was watching the Sixth Young Miss’s expression. Her eyes almost popped out into her bowl! It was really hilarious. But when you think about it, it means that the Young Miss is a responsible and understanding person. Old Madame’s love for her hasn’t been wasted.”

Old Madame Sheng opened her eyes, and she flipped a page of the Buddhist script. “The Master chose a good name for her. She deserves the ‘Ming’ in her name; her eyes see through situations, her mind thinks attentively, and her actions are careful so that she avoids any suspicion on her character.” 

cr.rebirth.online

 

Unfortunately this was the last chapter that was translated... 8 months ago....

 

[ForgottenSoulx]

Zhu Yilong is just so handsome i ship him with Zhao Liying but i know it cant be.. that feel. 

 

Also doesnt Feng Shaofeng character already have a girl ? im not sure how i feel about this. 

[icyphoenix]

1 hour ago, Wotad said:

Zhu Yilong is just so handsome i ship him with Zhao Liying but i know it cant be.. that feel. 

 

Also doesnt Feng Shaofeng character already have a girl ? im not sure how i feel about this. 

Same here!! I also love to see ZYL's character with minglan.. He is soo adorable with her.. But alas they can't be together

[ForgottenSoulx]

1 minute ago, icyphoenix said:

Same here!! I also love to see ZYL's character with minglan.. He is soo adorable with her.. But alas they can't be together

 

Yeah it sucks i hate this like forbidden love its like Yanxi the first two clearly loved each other but found love again in someone else.

 

I wonder if ZYL character will still protect/help her. 

[AngelaL]

Although some may think it’s too slow, but I actually like how they are taking the time to flush out each character and family dynamic. Every episode feels like a warm bowl of soup, warm, and nutritious.

After reading the book, I’m enjoying the flow of the story being painted on screen.

A few highlights of the show:

 

- All the grandmas are supper adorable and full of feels.

- 大娘子 is such a surprising comedic relief hahaha.

- the little looks they give, or gentle hand gestures, especially from the backup characters.

- This show is truly a light and enjoyable family show. My mom was like is this a comedy hahaha. The music really helps to highlight these golden moments haha

- We both agree the drama is shot beautifully. From the gorgeous and historically accurate sets, to the use of real candles instead of electric lights, to the natural plants and cinematography, everything feels so purposeful. We never felt jarred out of this century like many bad period dramas.

- as for the characters. I’m surprised to find myself liking the development of each family and how they ultimately help shape our characters and the path they will go on. It feels more like a life drama, with a slow wave of character understanding, and growth coming. This feels more natural and actually better developed than the novel.

- also compared to the novel, they did make some changes that is more world building, and we get to better understand each main character better not through flash back but actually see into their homes. In the novel we kinda stay within the view of Minglan’s family and flashback more.  I think the show can better help those who didn’t read the novel to understand the characters, their growth, and how in the end they make their decisions.

 

Hhaha I love how everyone is team 2nd lead already (he is cute eh haha) Let’s keep watching Shall we ^v< 

 

[hello210]

Spoiler

So from what i’m seeing in the latest episodes, GTY isn’t really as much of a drunk and womanizer as his father and others think. His relatives are the ones going to the brothels and using his name to make him responsible for the bills and also to give him a bad reputation. Seems like they’re already showing the step-mom’s conniving ways...and to think this has been going on since his mother married his father. Makes me wonder if the step-mom had something to do with the first wife’s death since it seems like she was already feeding bad thoughts to the older Gu son as a child...only assuming this since I’m watching ep 8 raw and don’t fully understand everything they are saying. 

 

I know GH’s character is more handsome and “noble” but I really like GTY’s character more because of the development. 

 Contains spoilers.

[ForgottenSoulx]

23 minutes ago, AngelaL said:

 

 

 

Its like Yanxi all team second lead before the first came along and won our hearts

12 minutes ago, hello210 said:

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So from what i’m seeing in the latest episodes, GTY isn’t really as much of a drunk and womanizer as his father and others think. His relatives are the ones going to the brothels and using his name to make him responsible for the bills and also to give him a bad reputation. Seems like they’re already showing the step-mom’s conniving ways...and to think this has been going on since his mother married his father. Makes me wonder if the step-mom had something to do with the first wife’s death since it seems like she was already feeding bad thoughts to the older Gu son as a child...only assuming this since I’m watching ep 8 raw and don’t fully understand everything they are saying. 

 

I know GH’s character is more handsome and “noble” but I really like GTY’s character more because of the development. 

 Contains spoilers.

It might be hard to ship GTY and ML

Spoiler

due to him having wife and children right? I think he has 2 wife's and then ML as well? I hate how this was. 

 

[hello210]

14 minutes ago, AngelaL said:

Although some may think it’s too slow, but I actually like how they are taking the time to flush out each character and family dynamic. Every episode feels like a warm bowl of soup, warm, and nutritious.

After reading the book, I’m enjoying the flow of the story being painted on screen.

A few highlights of the show:

 

- All the grandmas are supper adorable and full of feels.

- 大娘子 is such a surprising comedic relief hahaha.

- the little looks they give, or gentle hand gestures, especially from the backup characters.

- This show is truly a light and enjoyable family show. My mom was like is this a comedy hahaha. The music really helps to highlight these golden moments haha

- We both agree the drama is shot beautifully. From the gorgeous and historically accurate sets, to the use of real candles instead of electric lights, to the natural plants and cinematography, everything feels so purposeful. We never felt jarred out of this century like many bad period dramas.

- as for the characters. I’m surprised to find myself liking the development of each family and how they ultimately help shape our characters and the path they will go on. It feels more like a life drama, with a slow wave of character understanding, and growth coming. This feels more natural and actually better developed than the novel.

- also compared to the novel, they did make some changes that is more world building, and we get to better understand each main character better not through flash back but actually see into their homes. In the novel we kinda stay within the view of Minglan’s family and flashback more.  I think the show can better help those who didn’t read the novel to understand the characters, their growth, and how in the end they make their decisions.

 

Hhaha I love how everyone is team 2nd lead already (he is cute eh haha) Let’s keep watching Shall we ^v< 

 

Haha...I might be alone in team GTY right now but I like the bad boy turn good characters in historical romance novels. 

 

I’m with you on liking how they showed each character development. You can totally see how each of them were shaped by their environment and everything is so natural. 

[hello210]

2 minutes ago, Wotad said:

 

Its like Yanxi all team second lead before the first came along and won our hearts

It might be hard to ship GTY and ML

  Reveal hidden contents

due to him having wife and children right? 

 

Spoiler

He doesn’t have a wife yet. He has a mistress and children that he takes responsibility for which to me is honorable. It was the times...things like that are normal in that time period. Many noble sons have mistresses and children but they don’t take responsibility for them.

 

The novel spoilers I read explained how the mistress tricked him using his sympathies. 

 

[ForgottenSoulx]

3 minutes ago, hello210 said:

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He doesn’t have a wife yet. He has a mistress and children that he takes responsibility for which to me is honorable. It was the times...things like that are normal in that time period. Many noble sons have mistresses and children but they don’t take responsibility for them.

 

The novel spoilers I read explained how the mistress tricked him using his sympathies. 

 

Spoiler

I looked at Wiki and he has two wife's and 3 children before ML im pretty sure , yeah one of them does trick him but he has another wife whose his official. It might be hard for me to like him but we shall see i like the more loyal type's but i suppose this is how the times were. 

 

I watched alot of historical drama's where even some princes/noble's fall in love with one girl and is loyal to that one girl so seeing everyone here having so many wife's is a little weird . 

 

Does Qi Heng have wife's and children? 

This is spoilers ofc

[AngelaL]

16 minutes ago, hello210 said:

Haha...I might be alone in team GTY right now but I like the bad boy turn good characters in historical romance novels. 

 

I’m with you on liking how they showed each character development. You can totally see how each of them were shaped by their environment and everything is so natural. 

 

Haha nah I’m with you on GTY. Character development is what I love too. We shell see

[hello210]

46 minutes ago, Wotad said:

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I looked at Wiki and he has two wife's and 3 children before ML im pretty sure , yeah one of them does trick him but he has another wife whose his official. It might be hard for me to like him but we shall see i like the more loyal type's but i suppose this is how the times were. 

 

I watched alot of historical drama's where even some princes/noble's fall in love with one girl and is loyal to that one girl so seeing everyone here having so many wife's is a little weird . 

 

Does Qi Heng have wife's and children? 

This is spoilers ofc

Spoiler

Yeah...in the novel he has the mistress, and one official wife who died before he married Ming Lan. He only had 2 children with the mistress before Ming Lan. The first wife cheated on him with his cousin while he was away and died. All his other children are with Ming Lan. He is loyal to Ming Lan after they marry and never went back to the mistress. He only took responsibility by providing for them until the mistress tried to harm Ming Lan. Even when high officials and the Prince give him women, he doesn’t touch them.

 

That’s why I can ship them but we shall see how the drama plays out the stuff in the novel.

 

Qi Heng has wives and children. All political marriages due to his status. His character couldn’t stand against the elders.

 Spoilers.

[ForgottenSoulx]

26 minutes ago, hello210 said:

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Yeah...in the novel he has the mistress, and one official wife who died before he married Ming Lan. He only had 2 children with the mistress before Ming Lan. The first wife cheated on him while he was away with his cousin and died. All his other children are with Ming Lan. He is loyal to Ming Lan after they marry and never went back to the mistress. He only took responsibility by providing for them until the mistress tried to harm Ming Lan. Even when high officials and the Prince give him women, he doesn’t touch them.

 

That’s why I can ship them but we shall see how the drama plays out the stuff in the novel.

 

Qi Heng has wives and children. All political marriages due to his status. His character couldn’t stand against the elders.

 Spoilers.

Ok you make me feel better about it lets see how it play's out. 

28 minutes ago, AngelaL said:

 

Haha nah I’m with you on GTY. Character development is what I love too. We shell see

 

Not seen much of GTY and Ming Lan together yet so cant judge at the moment ;p 

 

Only use this youtube channel because they cover the chinese subs the best.

 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrR1ynvdUJ_zSXWQCE5TK8A/videos

[gleek49]

Honestly, GTY is as good as a man can get in that society. Sure, he's not perfect right now and he's going to make mistakes since he's still young and naive (even now he is quite an upstanding and responsible man, he could have abandon the mistress to save his reputation and save himself from the burden, but he insists on protecting and taking care of her and the kids, so he's actually a really good person if you think about it that way). He's going to go through a lot, but after that he will turn into one of the most reliable and capable husbands in the story, and that is because he makes many mistakes that he can learn from. I'm not worry about everyone having SLS right now, because people will see how GTY grow into the man that is worthy and they will get why he's the one for Minglan and why Qi Heng is not. Isn't it how life is? We meet our actual spouse much later in life, not everyone marry their first love. 

 

About GTY has many women before ML, we have to understand that this is the time in which men are allow to have many women. Even ML herself does not believe in fairy tales and one true love and all that, she never expects her husband to be faithful to only her (she's lucky she gets the one who's willing to be faithful). Also, it's not like GTY is ML's first man, she might not marry anyone before him, but she did have other contenders that she likes/wants to marry before him. Let's just say that they both has some sort of past behind them and the marriage requires work and compromise on both sides. GTY allows ML to be his equal, that's quite impressive considering the society they live in, I think.

 

Plus, after reading the novel, my assessment of Qi Heng is that he's quite a wet blanket so I'm no where near that ship. I hope the drama makes him a better character so that I can at least feel bad for him a little.

[gleek49]

Also, is there anyone who is an absolute fan of Zhang Jianing's Rulan like me? She's so stinking cute! Even though she's a spoiled brat who's not very bright, but her animated many expressions keep me laughing every time she shows up  I hope she has a lot of screen time.

[hello210]

10 minutes ago, gleek49 said:

Also, is there anyone who is an absolute fan of Zhang Jianing's Rulan like me? She's so stinking cute! Even though she's a spoiled brat who's not very bright, but her animated many expressions keep me laughing every time she shows up  I hope she has a lot of screen time.

Rulan makes me laugh because she’s spoiled and bullies Minglan to do her chores like sewing but is not viscous. Molan makes me want to slap her with all her tricks. Both of them are reflections of their mothers with their interactions. Minglan makes me feel for her and route for her because of her quiet strength and smarts. So glad she’s learned in a good way from her mom’s death and from grandma. To me, all of the actresses are doing well with their characters and making their characters an extension of the kids versions too.