When the Emperor, at his end, starts pleading with Lin Shu "I carried you on my horse, I flew kites with you..."
OMG YES. This bit! How Lin Shu didn't just punch his face in I don't know. What I like though is that by then we know enough to cry bullshit, but it's built up so gradually through the series. Like Marquis Yan, for example - at first, all we know is that he's pretty much an absentee dad, and we feel sorry for Yujin that his father's such an asshole. Then when we finally get to know what the Emperor did to Marquis Yan, it's such a revelation of no, the Emperor isn't a wise and kindly old man - he's a monster who betrayed the very men who made him - and like you said, immediately turned on the people who were closest to him.
It's like Mei Changsu said - he found it easy to believe the Prince was a traitor because he was already jealous of his own son (!!), because he felt people liked his son more than him. Poor Prince Qi was just too honorable and idealistic to see it, until it was too late.
I've started watching another series which is similar in some aspects (intricate palace drama) and different in others (no weird disease caused by fireworms? which causes one guy to turn into a whole other person and the other to become some kind of apeman) - it's called Royal Nirvana. I think I'm dropping it though - even the non-spoiler reviews call it soul-crushing, and I need to find something more positive!
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OMG YES. This bit! How Lin Shu didn't just punch his face in I don't know. What I like though is that by then we know enough to cry bullshit, but it's built up so gradually through the series. Like Marquis Yan, for example - at first, all we know is that he's pretty much an absentee dad, and we feel sorry for Yujin that his father's such an asshole. Then when we finally get to know what the Emperor did to Marquis Yan, it's such a revelation of no, the Emperor isn't a wise and kindly old man - he's a monster who betrayed the very men who made him - and like you said, immediately turned on the people who were closest to him.
It's like Mei Changsu said - he found it easy to believe the Prince was a traitor because he was already jealous of his own son (!!), because he felt people liked his son more than him. Poor Prince Qi was just too honorable and idealistic to see it, until it was too late.
I've started watching another series which is similar in some aspects (intricate palace drama) and different in others (no weird disease caused by fireworms? which causes one guy to turn into a whole other person and the other to become some kind of apeman) - it's called Royal Nirvana. I think I'm dropping it though - even the non-spoiler reviews call it soul-crushing, and I need to find something more positive!