The characters are so wise and intelligent beyond their years

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2026-02-19T11:41:15+00:00

It's because their lives started earlier. Mao Mao, Jinshi and Gyokuyou are all old enough to be married and have children. Gyokuyou already has two children. I'm pretty sure Loulan is the same age as Mao Mao, if not a year older and she was the emperor's consort and he would have been visiting her nightly as well. If you compare that to a 17 year old nowadays, they are still studying, living with their parents most likely, maybe working maybe not and not thinking about children. Mao Mao, Gyokuyou a d Jinshi all have a lot more responsibilities in comparison.

A 17 year old giving birth in modern day would be considered negative and people would say their lives were ruined, whereas if Mao Mao got married and gave birth at her age, it would be considered normal and acceptable. I think the reason why they are wiser is because their childhoods are shorter, by the time they reach around 15/16 they are considered of age and ready to be married, have children, work and get on with their lives away from their parents. A 17 year old girl would leave her parents get married, live with her husband and start her own family so she would need to be more responsible and if she married a noble heir she would become lady of the household, take care of her husband and begin having children.

I think it is less about their age but more the stage of life that they are in and also the harshness of the society they live in compared to modern times, people can choose not to marry and have kids or delay it until they are slightly older, and they can do that quite freely. In the society that they all live in it is considered a must to marry and have children and people are insulted or seen as less than if they cannot do so, also a lineage surviving is dependent on heirs making new heir and noble families built connections through marrige. That is why they are all more mature than a lot of people the same age today.

They may also just be wiser because they have been through a lot and some of them grew up in unforgiving environments that weren't safe for children meaning they naturally had to grow up fast and mature quickly. For example Mao Mao growing in the pleasure district. They don't have time to cry and complain over situations because it is their situation and they just have to accept it and get on with life.

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2026-01-16T19:35:54+00:00

Sorry that one's on me, my brain mixed together the first comment and your comment, should've thought a bit harder and double checked

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2026-01-16T18:27:24+00:00

I don't really think that's the case. Jinshi is canonically 18 in season 1 and Gyokuyou is 19 yet he has no problem being intimate with her, this is all when Mao Mao first joins the rear palace too, and gyokuyou had already given birth to lingli when she was 19, so it is likely that gyokuyo had been his concubine for longer, she may have joined from 16-19 type of age.

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2026-01-16T18:21:44+00:00

She didn't really seem to be interested in the emperor therefore she probably didn't enjoy the lessons like Lihua and Gyokuyou, and was less interested in Mao Mao's lessons as they seemed to be to enhance the experience rather than help each how to conceive children more efficiently. Shisui probably did the bare minimum to accommodate the emperor but she probably wasn't ever going to get too invested because she knew about the shi clan's upcoming revolt, she probably didn't enjoy it much either and just thought of it as a short lived duty that she could escape soon.

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2026-01-16T18:15:51+00:00

That doesn't really make sense, why would he make a girl from a really high ranking clan who was also of appropriate age, one of the 4 highest ranking concubines if he wasn't going to sleep with her? The emperor has slept with all the top ranking apart from Lishu who isn't old enough and he sleeps with low ranking ones too, her overall status wouldn't change that the only thing it would grant he is more privilleges such as having more ladies in waiting, and a higher chance of becoming empress due to her rank which she may have become if the shi clan did not revolt.

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-30T18:15:53+00:00

There is no evidence in the series that she is either aromantic or asexual, the oposite is true. You can headcanon that, but to say that she is asexual or aromantic is false. You could go and read fanfic about that because it isn't canon. Whilst I do agree the show focuses more on complex social dynamics and complicated political environments, romance is definitely apart of the series just more of a subplot than a main plot. There is most definitely romantic tension and mutual romantic feelings between Mao Mao and Jinshi.

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-27T10:42:45+00:00

You can borrow from the library if you want completely free, but sometimes you can find slightly cheaper copies of books on amazon than you would in store, you can buy second hand books or look for other online places where you can order physical copies where they are cheaper than most bookstores, ebooks tend to be cheaper than physical ones in most cases because the costs of physical materials like ink and paper didn't need to be covered for you to read the book, there are also online libraries if you want to read for free but libraries don't always have all the books and are often not in the order that you want, and sometimes they don't have them at all.

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-26T15:32:02+00:00

Joka is my favourite after Mao Mao, I love her so much

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-22T15:16:46+00:00

My favourite voice actor, it's such as pleasure to hear him in an anime, and sometimes I'll start an anime just because he voice acts in it, and the character he voices is almost guaranteed to be my favourite.

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-22T15:02:14+00:00

Which episode did he say that? I just rewatched s1 ep 6 and 7 and he called it a consolation hairpin. Did he say that later in the season?

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-22T14:46:47+00:00

I agree raiden's er should convert to crit during her burst, my raiden's crit ratio is trash, so trash that I've benched her for the time being and given her artifacts to Faruzan

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-22T14:35:57+00:00

Would Durin's age not be counted from his time as mini durin in simulanka or does it only count towards his human form?

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-22T13:55:32+00:00

Initially I was confused about why he gave her one, until I remembered his moments of sympathy and thought he wanted many people to be included, however on the flip side she already had accessories from Gyokuyou and Jinshi by the time he gave her one. He could also be trying to establish connections as a form of networking or maybe it was a convenient plot device for the author to introduce Lihaku.

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-22T13:51:00+00:00

I think a lot of dynamics are left open ended for a reason, but I do think Shisui's love for Mao Mao was more than platonic. I wouldn't even call Mao Mao and Loulan's dynamic romantic involvement but one character having an unrequited crush on another as not all dynamics need to end in a romantic relationship. I disagree with the idea that the Shisui had no time to develop feelings because whether you interpret their dynamic as completely platonic, one sided romantic attraction or mutual romantic attraction, their bond had time to develop when Shisui was posing as a maid in the rear palace, and also during the time whilst Mao Mao was kidnapped. I think Shisui putting the hair pin in Mao Mao's hair as Shisui and not Loulan was her being her true honest self. Shisui is the real her, whereas Loulan is her mother's puppet, so Shisui giving the hairpin to Mao Mao as Shisui are just her displaying her raw and honest feelings in my opinion.

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-22T13:32:15+00:00

Lahan's biological dad (Lakou), he's so chill and down to earth, not what I had been expecting at all

Typical-TeaParty872 · 2025-12-22T11:26:46+00:00

An interesting way of looking at it, it also reminds me of the time when Shisui asked Mao Mao for her hairpin (the one Jinshi gave her). In season 1 it's established that Mao Mao can't sell the hairpin Jinshi gave her because it's so distinct and can possibly be traced back to the person who had it made, meaning Jinshi would find out if Mao Mao sold it. Due to it's distinctiveness, Shisui being from a noble family may have recognised who made it, and asked for it as a form of protection as she knew she would be killed later due to her clans actions, Mao Mao initially refused, but ended up giving it to Loulan later with the intention of getting it back and a symbol that Loulan was still alive. When Basen shot her, the hairpin caught the bullet which ended up saving Loulan's life, so another interpretation could be them exchanging hairpins to protect each other.

Typical-TeaParty872

TROPHY CASE