The junior martial sister's act of offering tea to the beggar in the middle of an armed confrontation is such a deliberate move. She either has some plan or is simply socially awkward. Her blank expression earlier now seems like a mask. I wouldn't be surprised if she's a key character later, maybe even a spy.
I'm a little worried about how the story will handle the timeline. Gu Jia Ning is only 20 or so, and she's about to marry Sheng Ze Xi. The story seems to be moving fast toward marriage. I hope we get to see more of her interactions with her family and the village before she leaves. The side characters are too interesting to just leave behind. The brothers, especially, have their own stories hinted at. I want to see how Gu Jia Ning's change affects their fates.
Seeing her name all the disciples she helped and them just... denying it or twisting it is an exercise in frustration. The story makes sure you know the scale of her sacrifice. It wasn't just one or two people; it was a whole crowd. The line where one says "you want to use past favors to force us to beg for you?" is such a twisted perspective. It perfectly illustrates the gaslighting she's going through.
The emotional core is Xu Yuan's relationship with her mother. In her previous life, she couldn't protect her, and the guilt is still raw. Now, every action she takes—exposing Xu Ying, getting rid of kitchen staff—is driven by that pain. The scene where she holds back tears when hearing her mother's voice? That's the kind of moment that makes a story stick with you.