The way he finds out he made first right after it does not matter - they are on the run, he can’t return to the province without getting beheaded - but still the moment of joy is so glorious…
And then his default is to gloat how his father was wrong…
Only for it to transform into grief as he realizes his father will never know this or anything else because he’s dead.
God, this drama is so well written and filmed and acted!
The way he has that realization of his powerlessness in this world - his family was wealthy but the moment the unrest hit and their backer was brought down, they were just sitting ducks for robbery and points.
I loved this in the novel so - that his family and friends don’t get killed by the Emperor or anything; it’s a local aristo who has not even in his wildest thoughts coveted the throne. To the emperor, the man would be a nobody. But to the Gus (and the Wangs and the Lius and the Yes) he is the end of all their worlds. It’s a brutal lesson in violence and power. That is why it is so fitting that Gu Jiusi in the novel eventually pursues military power and achieves it; this is a horrifying pointed lesson that no matter how smart, how rich you are without power you will not be allowed to prosper or even to live. (Liu Yuru becomes a mighty merchant queen whose money can support GJS in his endeavors and shore up his power but it’s a symbiotic endeavor because she would not be able to make money in peace if it wasn’t for his accumulating power. It becomes a virtuous cycle for them.)
I love BJT for willing to look hideous when he howl-cries btw, face all scrunched up.
You know, by now I think that between this and LBFAD, this screenwriter should be hired to adapt every awesome web novel. I’ve rarely seen someone do it as well as her. I am especially impressed because LBFAD was based on a novel I did not like and like Minglan or Joy of Life, I find the drama superior in part because I did not love the novel. But this - this is an adaptation of a novel that I adore and do you know how rare it is to get a worthy adaptation of a great novel? I can’t think of any recent one except for Ever Night 1 and the Untamed.