Li Zhi (FL) was an orphan who was raised to adulthood by her aunt and uncle in the capital alongside her full blooded elder sister and male and female cousins. Her extended family was a greedy bunch and basically prepped her and her beautiful sister to be seductresses through "le*d" dance lessons and other courtesan arts from a young age so they could pimp them out to curry favor with the rich. FL's sister ended up falling in love with someone whose identity wasn't good enough for the extended family's tastes so they split up the couple and prepared the sister to be sent as a concubine to some powerful old geezer. The sister refused her fate but ended up crippled in her escape attempt. The family was very angry at her but by chance, FL happened to be seen and admired by Rui Wang. His impression of her was so great that he immediately wanted to marry her as his wife despite her lackluster background and quickly got the Dowager Empress's consent. Because of this, FL's weight in the family changed and so they didn't dare to treat her sister harshly anymore. FL endured her reluctance to be sent around like a gift because of her love for her sister. (Here's an anecdote of their childhood to show how they grew up. When the girls first came to the family, they refused to take the demeaning dance lessons ordered by the aunt and uncle. The elder sister was very proud and would not budge despite being starved and beaten for her insolence. In the end, the sister cracked and acquiesced because FL almost fell into a well and died after she tried to get water to quench her thirst.)

On the day of FL's wedding, Rui Wang's full blooded elder brother, the Emperor, caught sight of FL and immediately became infatuated. He took her away to a temple with some bullsh*t excuse and proceeded to force himself on her for days on end. Rui Wang was humiliated by the turn of events and the Dowager Empress was furious that her two sons were feuding over a woman. In this life, FL had grown disillusioned with the Emperor and his "love" and hatched a plan to eventually leave the palace. Somehow, this ended up involving recruiting the help of the Emperor's biao cousin, ML General Pei Ji (son of the Grand Elder Princess/Emperor's paternal aunt). At first, Pei Ji was disgusted by FL and blamed her for his cousins' disharmony, but after a few repeat encounters and shenanigans, he eventually came to sympathize with her. During all this, the Emperor winded up securing his mother's passive consent to officially bring FL into the palace as a consort by promising to make her barren and render her a paper tiger in case of future power struggles. FL resented his arbitrary decision making but appeared docile and submissive to his face at all times. After she entered the palace, she attracted the envy and jealousy of the other consorts by becoming the near-exclusive recipient of the Emperor's love and favour. The highest ranking woman in the harem before that was a shufei (i forgot her family name) who truly loved the Emperor. She was very heartbroken to learn of his new beloved but was determined to not act rashly as to make him think badly of her (oh thank god... I don't rlly like harem intrigue and this novel had very little bits of them) the palace had no Empress so shufei had been the de facto leader of the harem before this, but when FL entered the harem, she was bestowed the title guifei, a position higher than shufei. Although FL was guifei, she was a recluse and did not take the initiative to snatch power from shufei so for the most part, they were able to coexist no probs.

During an imperial banquet one night, General Pei ended up succumbing to the schemes of the Princess Royal (??? Forgot her title. She's the Emperor's full blooded sister and is General Pei's cousin) by ingesting an aphrodisiac. The princess was in love with him (one-sidedly) and intended to force him to marry her by creating a s*xual encounter between them. Unfortunately for her, the plans got thwarted and General Pei ended up going to FL for "help" to resolve the problem in his pants while the princess was unknowingly defiled by FL's cousin who mistook her for an ambitious palace maid. When the incident came to light, General Pei claimed that he resolved his situation through sheer will-power and a cold shower while the princess had no explanation for her having a man in her bed. They couldn't kill FL's cousin to silence him because it wouldn't bring back the princess's c*astity and might even deprive her potential child of a father, so they ended up having to get married. The marriage would later turn out tumultuous (violence, adultery, abortion (or was it miscarriage? Not sure but it was a messy affair) etc...) but who cares amirite back to FL.

FL secured General Pei's promise to help her using of his guilt, pity and budding love for her. He ended up buying her a house faraway from the capital, arranging her finances, bringing updates on her sister... all while sleeping with her during the time the Emperor's not within the premises. His relationship with the Imperial Family and official position made it easy for him to enter and leave the palace unobstructed and unsuspected.

During this time, relations between Rui Wang and the Emperor worsened as Rui Wang still hated his brother for stealing his wife while the Emperor was bitter that his whole life, he's had to give up many things he liked except the throne to his mother's favorite younger son. He held suspicion that FL longed for her intended husband as well despite FL repeatedly assuring him she's never so much as had a conversation with Rui Wang prior to the wedding. Rui Wang was so ANNOYING he kept pestering her after she entered the palace and putting her in difficult situations despite her trying to tell him she didn't want to leave with him (tactfully... because these men don't seem to take clear cut rejection very well). Rui Wang would eventually turn against his brother at the instigation of some... sh*t stirrer general idk and then leave for the borders to secretly raise troops. He felt emasculated by his brother's actions and believed that power was the only tool to get what he wanted regardless of consequence.

In the palace, FL endured criticism and hostility from everyone around her as they accused her of confusing the Emperor and facilitating nepotism. This was because her nasty ass uncle's family got ennobled with a Dukedom despite her actively trying to prevent them from climbing up. The Emperor acted without her input again and gave her uncle a position thinking it would please her, disregarding how bad it would make her look to his people. Later on, she would also be accused of pushing shufei into the water. Shufei had just been diagnosed as pregnant prior to that and people suspected she was jealous. The Emperor knew it wasn't her but still treated her like a suspect as to not piss his mother and court off. FL wasn't bothered by his disfavor and used the new free time to... cultivate feelings with her lover. After the case and her innocence got cleared up, FL used the Emperor's unfair treatment of her to guilt him into staying away. She brought up her forced infertility, criticism against her for monopolizing his favor and delaying heirs, and alleged nepotism as reasons why she's discontent. The Emperor guiltily accepted her complaints and left her alone for some time. They stopped being intimate from this time on. FL began to open up to General Pei some more, making him develop deeper feelings for her. At some point, he came to learn of her forced infertility and the physical agony the aggressive medicine wreaked on her body, so he secretly smuggled her to a doctor outside who began to cure her. Eventually, the Emperor grew tired of pushing her away and tried to reconcile with her, only for her to treat him coldly. In a fit of emotion, he told her to go back to her natal family to oversee her sister's wedding (sister managed to marry her beloved after some twists and turns and support from General Pei), an order than many people believed to be a signal of her loss of favor.

After the wedding was completely, the Emperor left the palace to personally meet her and beg for her forgiveness in a private setting, only to be rejected again. He disregarded her feelings and ordered her to return to the palace, breaking the hope that FL had that she could use the time away from the palace to escape. In the palace, FL continued to refuse the Emperor's visits. Her female cousin was jealous of her grand looking life and sought to become a concubine too by seducing the Emperor. The Emperor was disgusted by her disloyalty to her family member but bedded her anyway as to humiliate her. He didn't intend on canonizing her as an imperial concubine and meant to send her back in the morning (after everyone knew she spent a whole night in his palace) to ruin her, thinking FL would be pleased with her treacherous cousin's fate. Contrary to his expectations, FL told him how once again, his arbitrary actions would only serve to harm her and her reputation. Her cousin being sent back in this manner would incite rumours what she was the reason for this and that she was jealous, unfilial to the elders, and ungrateful to the family who brought her up.

The incident ended with her having another reason to be cold to the Emperor, so he became angry and took his anger out on the cousin by making her a concubine, but gave her an ambiguous title that made it seem like she was an ordinary nobleman's wife and not a member of the imperial harem. He visited her frequently and used her as a replacement for FL, but made her position shabby and look like an outside mistress to humiliate and depress her.

Outside the capital, war was brewing because Rui Wang was coming back with an army to usurp his brother's throne. The news eventually reached everyone and FL is blamed from the war despite her only being the needle that broke the camel's back. More stuff happened, and the Emperor finally learned that FL had been having an affair behind his back the entire time. He summoned her to his quarters and prepared to "send her off" but got interrupted by Pei Ji who rushed there fresh out of battle after hearing his beloved was going to be punished. The Emperor was very shaken seeing his unemotional cousin holding a woman so tenderly. At this point, the two men's relationship had already broken down irretrievably for reasons unrelated to FL and was hanging by a mere string (Pei Ji's father made him swear to be loyal and fight for his country). Emperor's growing paranoia and callous treatment of the old but loyal ministers (that also included Pei Ji's father) chilled the officials' heart and gave rise to sh*t stirrer ladder climbers like shufei's natal family. Pei Ji admitted to the affair on site and told him that he would continue to fight against the opportunistic invaders for the country's sake but would no longer intervene with him and his brother's war with each other.

Eventually, Rui Wang would die from his own general (I think) while the Emperor died from shufei's schemes. Shufei had a son by him and became worried for her son's future when she saw how unstable and indecisive the Emperor was. Her powerful natal family used her fears to instigate her into killing the Emperor and installing their son as the new monarch. This would turn out to be short-lived as Pei Ji would later return to unite the country divided by war as its leader and declare himself the new Emperor.

Oh... anyways in the mean time FL also eventually overcame her mental barriers and self imposed single wamunhood during her time waiting for him in the war, unsure of when and if she would ever see him again each time she said goodbye. They got married properly and she became her legal wife and mother of their children, the end blah blah.

in fact, I wholly rooted for their adultery and found FL's decision to use her beauty and sexuality as a tool commendable. She got a rebirth but she was still the same powerless, beautiful woman from a low class family being shuttled between these powerful brothers. She didn't gain any superpowers, so it makes sense that she used her one asset - beauty - to seduce ML, take back some control of her life, get herself some agency, and ensure her future.

the FL mentioned that although the ML respects her, even he still deeply believes that men should rule the world. So although the ML was being written a bit too perfect for my liking, it was nice that they gave us this tidbit.

FL knows the future from her dream, but does nothing to prevent it other than arranging General Pei (ML) as her escape route, and packing her things a few days earlier when it's time to leave. The rest - invasions, the Emperor's decline, etc. - She doesn't bother to avoid. Other than sleeping with the Emperor and the General Pei, and staying in her quiet area, the FL is extremely passive.

So, FL is sleeping with the Emperor and General Pei lots, Emperor's health declines, politics war politics, fight for the throne, etc.

Aside from jealous cousins and princesses, the women are mature and chill in the story - and that makes sense, since the men make a mess of things already, there's no need for harem politics.

I guess the novel didn't appeal to me that much because most of the start is the super-gorgeous beautiful seductive 15-year-old FL dealing with all the powerful men like a seasoned pro, and very little insight/emotions going on inside the FL. It was hard to feel connected to anyone in the story. The Emperor, Prince Rui were both entitled scumbags, the General was insta-love (he was happy to fall for her), and most of the story is about the decline of the dynasty and the fast rise of the new. But it's a HE. 2 years later, the 17-year-old FL and ML get married, ML is now the new Emperor, and he promises to be monogamous.

"He felt like a fish on a chopping board, helpless and at the mercy of the person holding the blade. And she was the one wielding the knife"

• Infidelity? I mean, the emperor basically forced her to be his consort, but still, both romantic and s*xual infidelity.
• Royalty being royally s*upid. They all, except the Dowager maybe, were so easily influenciable that is pitiable at some point.
• No harem intrigue. Though I believe it would have spiced the story some more, I'm happy with the way women were portrayed.
• Sleeping with two people without one of them knowing. But he deserves that lmao.
• As mentioned, no explicit smutty scenes. But the implications of some of them made me blush. Note: Not all 'implications' are pleasant ones, though.
• Women bearing the brunt for stuff that men do. In this case, LZ is blamed for things she pretty much has no control over. It doesn't get to the point where she is wrongfully imprisoned (something similar does happen but she doesn't suffer), but her reputation does plummet.
• A relationship? Of convenience. LZ does use the male lead at first, the ML doesn't mind her using him.

1. I know, I know, this is a novel, don't expect too much realism. Still, something about it constantly ticked me off. Yes, PJ had the ways and means to be able to see LZ constantly without being caught or arising suspicion. But I can't help but feel that, in some situations, luck played a bit too much into the picture for that to happen. Giving that the story isn't exactly about overly lucky protagonists, it ends up feeling a little lazy. It also makes the characters look dumber/more impulsive than the author tries to portray them as. Spoiler:
   Spoiler

   They do get caught near the end though, so it was just bound to happen.

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2. The end felt a bit rushed, specially the last chapter.
3. As said, some parts don't have too much realism on them. Some problems get resolved too easily, like situations and opinions. This is the case in the final chapters, so I guess the author was rushing. More details about it:
   Spoiler

   Like, in the case of the public's opinion about LZ. The soldier's opinion on her was too easily swayed for my licking, though I guess there is reason behind of that (PJ making them learn what critical thinking is lmao). But I was surprised that the public/ministers' opinion wasn't a hindrance for when PJ and LZ desired to get married. For all they knew, LZ was a calamity whose beauty almost topped a country.

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4. The ending wasn't really an open one, but I would have liked some extras about their lives afterwards. Especially considering that things would have been complicated given their new status.
   Spoiler

   Like the pressure of getting concubines and how PJ deals with that or how he acts a ruler in contrast to his cousin.

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5. I expected LZ to have some more reservations about actually getting together, as in having an actual relationship, with PJ. As a female commoner she's socially disadvantaged while PJ, being a man of high status, is not. A person's promises are not to be always believed, specially if they have the high ground. Though I know that PJ would never actually harm or cheat on her, some things remain unaddressed. Basically, LZ just has to trust him and doesn't have any actual leverage or way to have an out if things do go south, and that doesn't sit right with me considering the things she experienced with the prince and the emperor.

1. The dynamic between the royal family and how power plays a role in it. This is the case with the royal siblings, and perhaps with PJ. The way the perception of power and the position of the Emperor shifts within the four of them is, *clicks tongue*, nice. At first, the princess and Prince Rui think they can get and do whatever they want thanks to their spoiled upbringing and as long as they don't covet the throne (in prince Rui's case). At first, PJ thinks that he has to be loyal to the emperor no matter what. This changes when the Emperor starts to transform, and it all begins with LZ. Not putting blame on her, is made very clear in the story that the emperor was going to reveal his "true nature" sooner or later anyways. The emperor, someone who grew up with people constantly dictating him what to do and how to act, has grown tired of restrictions. Although his mother, the Dowager Empress, has told him that once he becomes Emperor he will be free to act as he pleases in his private life and in court, he finds that this is not the truth. As a result, he begins to assert his power in a rather aggressive manner, even over his own family members.. He steals LZ from Prince Rui, makes the princess marry someone she doesn't like (she messed up tho, kinda her fault) and ignores the advise of old loyal ministers in favor of new flatterers. This way, both the princess and the prince realize that they both can't actually have it all. The princess didn't seem to know that she needed her brother emperor's support to be able to be willful. She also seemed to forget or not know what kind of person the emperor was, who was proud and wanted to maintain 'face' above all else. The prince realizes that, even though he never challenged his brother for the throne, the emperor can and will impose himself because he has that kind of power and the prince can't do anything about it. Believing that their royal status makes them special, the three end up getting played by other individuals, leading to their downfall.
2. PJ's progressive realization that loyalty to a ruler is worth nothing if said ruler is incompetent, doesn't listen to their people and instead seeks to impose their will over their subjects.
3. LZ as a character is also well done imo, her actions and reactions too. It was mentioned that it took her several months to let the Emperor have his way with her. She eventually gets used to it (which doesn't mean she's okay with it, she's still planning a way out of the situation), but after falling for PJ and not having to be with the Emperor for a long time, her reactions to the Emperor's advances are realistically impulsive, emotional, and negative. She's not overly cold and calculative, not a master-mind in any way. She is, however, pragmatic because of her situation, but also rather passive by leaving the task of planning the escape to PJ. LZ knows she's beautiful and that her beauty is a something she can use in her favor, but also knows that is what got her into this mess in the first place. Not sure if I read it wrong but I think it's said that she lived 3 lives/2 lives with the memory of one of them, one as a modern woman and 2 as LZ with one of the latest being the one where she died.
4. The relationship between the leads gradually evolving. The changes don't come out of the blue, though I would have liked a liiiittle bit more of development. They slowly begin to understand and know each other, which leads to the development of feelings. PJ seems to be the one to fall first, with LZ reluctant and feeling guilty. She comes clean with her intentions of using him and he doesn't back down. Eventually, LZ falls for PJ thanks to his genuine love and care he has for her.

He is younger than both the emperor and the ML, and is almost the same age as OG host, him falling in love and wanting to marry MC is not an act of assault, especially at that time. Marriage you have no say in is always and forever going to be hell, but in her situation, she doesn't really have any other sort of marriage, not really. Whether they could've been happy or not, what the future would've brought, that's an entirely unknown thing because of what happened during their wedding. Real emotion comes with time, comes with knowledge, so it's truly laughable that it's shown as very shallow, how he lacked knowledge of her and consideration, when in truth he did not have an actual opportunity to even develop any sincerity or true affection. The conflict between brothers does stem from their personalities, mostly from the emperor's side, but tbo, if prince Rui had more pride he'd have done something as soon as MC was taken.

ML did acknowledge her circumstance eventually, but the truth is he never really even thought to consider them until she spoke of the things he would consider hardship, in his mind she really had no reason to complain or feel anything other than satisfaction and happiness.

The ending felt kind of rushed and a bit unsatisfying. Don't get me wrong, it's def a HE, but it felt... kind of wrong?

I get she loves the ML and he would never do what her former "husband" did but... to return to that place after everything she went through in there?

Maybe if it took longer, it would have made more sense to me?

I don't know, the whole thing felt way too rushed to make sense.