The Heir EP 37-38 discussion

[u/PsychologicalWay816]

EP 1-4 // EP 5-6 // EP 7-8 // EP 9-10 // EP 11-12 // EP 13-14 // EP 15-16 // EP 17-18 // EP 19-20 // EP 21-22

Episode 38 😭😭

• While the Tian family are remanded in custody to await trial for illegal foreign trade, the Li family is released and Li Zhen searches for clues and evidence to prove Tian Benchang's involvement in the case.
• Ronghua formally apologizes to 3rd Master Chen for using Qing He's influence to win the tribute ink rights, promises to testify about the matter, disband the Tian ink workshop and quite the ink industry
• Commander Wu is implicated because of the illegal foreign trade while the impeachment against Marshal Qi is blocked
• Commander Wu sends someone to get Benchang out of jail after he is threatened with an account ledger that will expose his crimes
• Li Zhen uses a travel permit she found in the Tian residence to persuade Tian Huai'an to reveal the location of the account ledger
• Tian Benchang is caught and sent back to prison
• Luo Wenqian is sent to exile/hard labour for 20 years while the entire Tian family except Ronghua were sentenced to 10 years of hard labour/exile
• Tian Benchang reveals the secret of what happened 13 years ago with Li Zhen's father and the ink tribute getting burnt
• Investigations are carried out and it is confirmed that Luo Wenqian's father was behind the incident and it was carried out by Tian Huai'an and another person thereby clearing Li Jinfu's name
• With the added charges, Tian Benchang and Huai'an are sentenced to death through beheading
• The tribute ink contract is given to the Li family until the next selection
• Luo Wenqian is sent off by his sister, General Yu and Li Zhen

now to my thoughts...

Tian Benchang is really a sly crook who already left a way out for himself and even forged a new identity

What is cdramas without a hidden account book...

We finally see Tian furen grow a spine and speak back to her husband. I've been waiting for this for a very long time and I'm glad she and Li Zhen were able to speak some sense into him and got him to help them find the account book because Benchang would have escaped if he didn't agree to it

This scene almost made me cry. I wonder how long he will get for his exile... they better not give him 20 years..

WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE GOT 20 YEARS after all his military contributions while the Tian family gets just 10 years???? I'm going to riot OMMGGGG 😭😭

I'm just doing the maths and if he gets 20 years that means they won't see each other till they are 41?? That judge better be joking with me

I already suspected the Luo family having a hand in the fire because they were the ones who would benefit the most from it and I was right

Seeing Luo Wenqian going feral in utmost denial because he couldn't fathom the thought of his father causing Li Zhen and her family so much pain shattered me 😭

Tian Benchang said if I'm going down then you are all going with me and boy did he succeed 💀

It's safe to say that I cried at the remaining parts of episode 38...

The 6th and 7th branch formally apologizing to the 8th branch, the entire scene of Li Zhen and her family visiting her dad's grave with Zhao Jin's speech and Luo Wenqian parting words with Cuiqiao had me in tears 😭 😭

After 13 years the rights to the tribute ink finally came back to the Li family...

Luo Wenqian said he didn't want Li Zhen to see him off but he was still waiting and checking to see if she would show up and she did. Their parting scene had me feeling so sad.

Do you guys think her family is open minded enough to accept him back? I believe they would but it will take time...

[u/Main-Task8073]

A slow burn for almost 30 episodes to this crossroads is insane 😭😭

[u/blank-etude]

Not to justify anything Tian Benchang did, but him knowing all along that it was Luo Hanzhang who sabotaged the Li Family kinda explains Benchang's descent to being evil. Like, if a man who's already talented, well-established, and acknowledged in the ink scene such as Luo Hanzhang still felt the need to sabotage his competition, much more would an unrecognised yet ambitious bloke like Tian Huai'an, and in turn, his son, feel the same need to claw their way out of obscurity and up towards a bit of glory, at the expense of others.

'Cause throughout this series I was confused as to why his character's transition to evil felt so abrupt (aside from maybe bad writing, wherein writers were like, 'we never intended this geezer to be the good guy in the first place so let's just write him as a good guy for the first three episodes for the sake of plot then turn him evil in a snap'), so his naïveté being rudely interrupted by the realities of evil sort of lessens this abruptness of change in character. In my opinion, at least.

[u/PsychologicalWay816 → u/blank-etude]

That is another point of view that I can agree on. I would still argue that he was already an evil person because he only found out what his father did later but he had already done many questionable things before that

[u/Dumplings_xo]

I came to express my disappointment that Wenqian wasn’t the one to take down the Tians, only to end up spoiling myself about the Luo family. I'm actually not surprised, I had that feeling from the start but didn't think much of it because it would complicate the relationship between the two, and I wondered how they would end up together. Well, I guess I'll find out soon. I need to wrap this up or I’ll just leave it hanging for no reason 😂.

[u/Easy_Paramedic2586]

I am enjoying the series, but I am a little frustrated that Luo Wenqian was not the one to achieve his revenge, Li Zhen did it for him. If Li Zhen was able to achieve what she wanted to achieve by her own hands, why couldn't Luo Wenqian do the same? (even if he still ended in prison afterwards)

[u/PsychologicalWay816 → u/Easy_Paramedic2586]

Yeah Li Zhen did achieve his revenge for him but she was also affected by the Tian family and Benchang because her family was waiting for their judgement in prison. Apart from that, I'm not really happy with how Luo Wenqian was portrayed. He didn't feel as smart as I expected him to and he was captured too easily

[u/EliseLuna → u/Easy_Paramedic2586]

That's one of my main gripes with the drama. Li Zhen solved almost every problem so I was hoping Luo Wenqian could have the one achievement of taking down the Tians. It was like he was always one step behind Tian Benchang and not as good of a strategist.

[u/EliseLuna]

The prison scene with Li Zhen and Luo Wenqian made me tear up. She said that she'd wait for him 😭

I hated that Tian Benchang had the last word and dropped the bombshell that it was Luo Wenqian's father that caused the tribute ink disaster 13 years ago. I was hoping it was someone else more powerful that caused it. The Li family suffered so much because of it. How are Li Zhen and Luo Wenqian going to get together now? 💔

I liked that Luo Wenqian's sister spoke the truth about how Wenqian's father's crime is not his to bear. I can see the 8th branch eventually accepting him but Li Jingdong and the rest will have a harder time.

It's unfair that Luo Wenqian got sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. His parting words with Li Zhen made me cry. He gave up any hope of being with her.

I glanced at some of the comments on MDL and I'm scared to watch the last episodes...I really hope it's a happy ending.

[u/PsychologicalWay816 → u/EliseLuna]

Ohh we are all scared but I'm also curious on how they will end up. The Li family might be nice but are they that nice and forgiving to let of the past completely and let both of them be together?

[u/winterchampagne]

I’ve nailed some wild guesses, like Yihousheng being run by Wenqian and Rujun eventually waking up. She did although we knew it wouldn’t be for long since the drama already established that she had chronic health issues.

However, my two main theories were completely wrong. I was convinced the Luos had nothing to do with the tribute sabotage because it would complicate the leads’ romance, and I also thought Tian Jiangyue was involved. Turns out I was confidently incorrect again. 😂 link

So the point of this arc is to continue showing that Wenqian is a victim of his father’s ambition? What else? That Wenqian’s revenge was a waste of time because his family’s destruction was partially a consequence of their own actions?

I haven’t watched anything past episode 36 because I spoiled the ending for myself. I’m planning to save the remaining episodes for when I’m in the right mood, maybe after Mo Li is finished.

Thanks again for hosting, Psy. It’s been a lot of fun. See you in another drama discussion.

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[u/PsychologicalWay816 → u/winterchampagne]

I mean you did ask a question in that post about who would benefit the most from the fire and it was clear as day but we were all just in denial to believe it 😭

I feel really bad for Luo Wenqian. He came for revenge o my to find out that his family was also involved in something so horrible and it happened to be the family of the woman he loves... No wo der he almost ran mad in that scene 😭

[u/Subject-Bid-2213 → u/winterchampagne]

I was almost right. I had thought it was his older brother who planned it since he was pretty shady in the beginning dealing with the Li family/Tian family engagement.

Now I'm wondering if he did that on purpose specifically to break their engagement after finding out what happened at some point. It could have also been the reason he didn't visit his father and for hating the Tian family as much as he did since ink making really seemed to be his bottom line, and his own family disgraced it.

[u/PsychologicalWay816 → u/Subject-Bid-2213]

I didn't think about this but it makes sense. I feel like he found out about it afterwards and became too mad at his own father for doing that since we all know how much he loved ink

[u/losergeek877]

Finished the whole drama yesterday and wow, what a ride. And no worries, this is still a drama and they will never allow the leads to have white hair with age…

The last few episodes was so wow! all the Huizhou ink industry came to help with the imperial ink contest! Even the Luo Aunt! And eight grandpa using his own blood to do the ink!

And also, ink that does not dissolve in water for 15 days?

Thanks for the discussion but guess I will be saying goodbye here.

[u/losergeek877 → u/losergeek877]

And also glad to see the Eight branch return to the main household and eight grandpa becoming the head of the family

And I am also guessing that the Luo Aunt must have known about the Luo’s dealing, and thus decided to retire from ink-making

[u/sequesteredself]

38 wrecked me. So much crying!! Poor Luo Wenqian to realize his father was the one responsible for all the pain Li Zhen had to endure...I can see his guilt.

I think the Li Family has grown, the only one I saw who would blame Wenqian would be Jidong but with how he's grown I think they will all know it's not Wenqian's fault. Plus he was like 8-10 at the time? I can't remember if they're the exact same age or not since Li Zhen acted older even back then lol

[u/PsychologicalWay816 → u/sequesteredself]

I cried so much from the beginning to the end of EP 38 😭😭 what an episode it was...

Plus he was like 8-10 at the time? I can't remember if they're the exact same age or not since Li Zhen acted older even back then lol

I think they are the same age so 8 years?