The Legend of Rosy Clouds ไบ็ง่ก: Episodes 7-8 Discussion
Welcome to the discussions for The Legend of Rosy Clouds!
๐This post is for episodes 7-8 please use spoiler tags for any eps beyond these. ๐
๐Other media spoilers: Please use spoiler tags when discussing significant plot points from the Saiunkoku Monogatari light novels, anime, or manga.
Links:
Index | Masterpost | Ep 1-3 | Eps 4-6
Airing Schedule | MDL | Dramawiki | Flashcards
Discussion posts will be a day behind the iQIYI airing schedule, with your hosts posting according to their own timezones and availability. Next up will be u/Alarming_Tea_102 with eps 9-10.
Episode 7
Things are heating up, literally. Hot weather descends on the Nine Cities, further amplifying the tension between Lord Zheng and Qi Zheng's factions.
New characters this ep: Qi Hua (flashback)
An attempted assassination on the attempted assassin
We wrap up Suyin's storyline. Lord Zheng won her loyalty by saving her life as a child, but that loyalty is not returned as he orders her killed once she is outed as the attempted assassin. Qi Zheng orchestrates a plan to save her from Zheng's silencing on Fan Yun's behalf, but keeps his wife in the dark about the details.
Fan Yun has to witness her husband (non fatally) stab Suyin so that her horrified reaction is real enough to be overheard by Lord Zheng's assassin assassin. Fan Yun is reasonably upset about this once she finds out the whole story. Gao Ran escorts the injured but alive Suyin out of the city to safety.
Personal Wind Machine
Fan Yun finds a refreshing breeze blowing through her room that is for some reason lit with a hundred candles in the middle of a hot sunny day. Qi Zheng has rigged up a super long rope and pulley system so he can operate the ceiling fans for her from the comfort of his own shaded pavilion.
no but really, all these candles + wind seems like a huge fire hazard
There is a hard cut from windy whimsy into battlefield trauma. I found this to be a strange editing decision. It is disorienting and dreamlike to make a sudden jump like this but unclear if that was the show's intention or if its just incidental.
Haunted
Avoiding court after his failed plots last ep, Lord Zheng is at home having nightmares. In his dreams we see the bloody aftermath of war and a memorial hall haunted by the voices of the dead. The figure of former City Lord Qi Hua appears to challenge him on his loyalty and actionsa
Later Zheng Shi arrives and seems perplexed when his grandfather asks him if he's been good official. He offers ameliorating words like a dutiful grandson who definitely does not have some kind of sexy villain cosplay alter ego.
"Others may not understand and think you just love power, but ever since I was little, I've watched you lie awake at night worrying about the prosperity of the Nine Cities. If you don't qualify as a good official, then who does?"
So many questions here. Is this true? Does Zheng Shi believe it? Is he reverse psychologizing his grandpa into being a good official?
When Zheng Shi gets up to leave, Zheng Yuan's expression rapidly shifts as soon as his grandson can't see him anymore. How much of their interaction was an act? Is he truly haunted by whether his actions have been righteous or by something else?
Later we get a follow up interaction and an echoing moment where we see Zheng Shi rapidly shift his expression to "smiling wholesome grandson" when spotted by his grandfather through a window. He's out of his fake beard but still wearing a mask. However, he does seem genuinely surprised and maybe concerned when he hears his grandfather is still having nightmares. What is he up to and how much has his grandfather's position/actions/legacy influenced whatever his agenda is?
Hot Times in the City
We see Gao Ran and Wei Ying at the Guard Training Grounds where soldiers are collapsing from the heat... and something else. In an effort to see her crush, Wei Shisan brought a refreshing drink to the soldiers but accidentally mixed in incompatible ingredients that make people sick. Gao Ran is not impressed in the slightest and Wei Ying is, for some reason, not that mad that his sister has harmed his men. However he does judge her desperation for Gao Ran's attention.
Wei Ying sounding like an idol drama hater
In court, Qi Zheng hears of the negative effects the heat is having all over the city and how Lord Zheng's absence is exacerbating the issues. Without him around, nothing is getting done in a timely manner or at all.
Later, Qi Zheng and his team (Fan Yun, Yan Jiang, Wei Ying, and Gao Ran) discuss the likelihood that Lord Zheng's prolonged absence is an intentional power play to show how indispensable he is, a reminder that it would be unwise to fully oust him from his position.
Seemingly inspired by Fan Yun's perseverance through setbacks and her practical mindset, Qi Zheng takes her out on a date to a meadow to show her something .... it's Lou Qiyan in a curtained pavilion???
Episode 8
Qi Zheng goes all in on a plan to rebuild the lost temple but he runs into some stumbling blocks while continuing to try and build a relationship with Fan Yun.
New characters this ep: none
Lost Tomb Temple
Lou Qiyan somehow knew they were going to be here and Qi Zheng seems upset but not that surprised. Our City Lord somehow knows they are after the same thing, a lost temple set up in memory of the founding war of the Nine Cities. He knows Lord Zheng has been having nightmares about it and he also knows Lou Qiyan is Zheng Shi! Guess we won't be getting a dramatic fake beard removal as identity reveal like I hoped.
this is as far as I go into my crack ship, then Lou Qiyan's behavior started to annoy me again
In order to get the map and blueprints of the location of the temple from Lou Qiyan, Qi Zheng reluctantly agrees to let Fan Yun give music lessons to him. After some repeated failures, she figures out he just hears notes differently than everyone else and is able to help him overcome this by adjusting a music score accordingly.
judging how rich people spend their money, big mood
Mini Love Triangle Rant: This love triangle is just built on such hollow ground. If she had shown any interest in Lou Qiyan that would be one thing, but her zero interest combined with this persistence in pursuing alone time with her just makes him seem creepy and I'm not sure if the show wants us to think he's a creep or not.
Just like this love triangle has kind of come out of nowhere this sudden important mission to find the temple also kind of came of out of nowhere and I was struggling to understand why Fan Yun was so instantly on board with it. Wei Ying and Yan Jiang also seem to have reservations about this temple finding/rebuilding plan and we get a scene of Qi Zheng explaining his reasoning to them.
okay but for real I might start shipping Yan Jiang and Wei Ying
My understanding of his reasoning is this: He would like to raise Fan Yun's reputation in the court and win over some more nobles and ministers to their side vs Lord Zheng's by seeming to make this benevolent move of repairing this temple that will ease Lord Zheng's nightmares.
Let me know if you think I missed something or you have other interpretation of what they are up to, I had to watch these scenes a few time because I was not 100% following at first!
Doting Grandson
We see Lord Zheng receive an upsetting update on current events, but we don't hear precisely what it was. Then he comments on needing to arrange a marriage for Zheng Shi, while making sure we continue to know his low opinion of women. Then there's some more intense battle flashbacks followed by another scene between him and his grandson possibly up to no good. Once again his mannerism changes as soon as Zheng Shi enters the room, his voice taking on a gentler tone while Zheng Shi smiles warmly instead of giving his his aura farming Lou Qiyan stare. I guess one can't look at their grandfather like that.
Things get interesting when Zheng Shi claims he has heard gossip that Lord Zheng's absence from court is impacting not just the court but the people they govern. Then he criticizes Qi Zheng by saying he has been ignoring state affairs in the search for "some ancestral temple." His grandfather changes the subject, complimenting the tea as he takes a sip.
Couple Chat
Our leads have another late night chat while rocking the bed back and forth to appease spying ears. The staging of them rocking back and forth while having a serious talk is pretty funny. Qi Zheng tries to mention his feelings about his lost brother but Fan Yun barrels past this to inquire about his plans to reform the civil service exam. She wants to know if he would ever consider letting women take it but he immediately shuts down her ambitions, saying even if they could he would never let her take it. Why not, dude? Explain yourself.
When she lets slip about being paid 500 golden taels to marry him, this puts him in a bad mood that lasts through the night into the next day. Further upset to hear how she has slept in after their late night talk (and long night sort of snuggling), he decides what she needs is a full day of SPORTZ.
This also keeps her occupied by Yan Jiang and Wei Ying go to get the blueprints from Lou Qiyan but when they return to Qi Zheng they explain he refused to give them the blue prints, insisting he would only deal with Fan Yun. Again, using your leverage just to arrange alone time with a woman not interested you is creepy. Dude, please stop. You are not entitled to her company because you find her attractive.
In court Qi Zheng tells the ministers of his intention to repair the temple to honor the meritorious officials, everyone seems pleased by this plan.
Discussion
Overall I'm enjoying this show but it feels like its still finding its footing. Maybe its just the editing which still seems odd in places. I'm not familiar with all of the source material, having only read about half of the manga (currently in Vol 5 of the English translation, FL is >!studying for the civil service exam!< ), but so far for me the biggest thing that is missing that I think the drama could use is more of Fan Yun's POV. The drama has given us a brief outline of her life before and her motivations for things but I find myself wishing we could go a bit deeper.
I was surprised in these eps by how interesting I found the Lord Zheng nightmare situation, what is he truly haunted by? Things he did do? Or things he didn't? And his interactions with Zheng Shi/Lou Qiyan. In the early eps I was not finding Lou Qiyan very interesting but these eps gave us a glimpse into the multiple performative identities he holds. However, as mentioned throughout the recap, I dislike all his scenes with Fan Yun.
Looking forward to hearing what you all think!
edits: clarity, typos
Posted Jun 23, 2026, 12:56 AM UTC