The series is split into two books. I read the "published" version and the first book is about their life together and eventually, our MC finds out why the ML hates her so much.

If I recall correctly, the MC's maternal aunt (?) poisoned the ML's mother and that's what killed her. So he hates that woman, and her entire family, and vows basically to ruin them and destroy them to get revenge.

MC gives birth to a child for the ML and the ML does fall in love with her. He becomes Emperor, and she becomes the Empress. However, despite loving her, he doesn't admit it and eventually tells her that the reason why he married her and was so kind to her was so that he could hurt her more when he eventually told her he actually hated her and her family.

After that, the last chapter is about how the MC's courtyard was burned down in the palace. She couldn't be saved, and the Emperor realizes that he's lost her and that he loved her the entire time.

The second book is about the MC, now taking on the name of Mu Ningyan, is the "adopted" daughter of the prime minister's house and is pretending to be their cousin. She looks the exact same as the original MC, but she calls the prime minister and his wife and her two brothers uncle/aunt/cousins to keep up the charade.

She was originally set to marry someone from the Meng family, but the Emperor saw her and eventually forcibly took her into his harem basically. He is suspicious that she's not actually Mu Ningyan, but Ruan Wushuang.

The story is framed in that people would assume that Mu Ningyan is really the cousin of Ruan Wushuang, but we as the reader all know that Ningyan is actually Ruan Wushuang. Mu Ningyan was a real girl, but nobody had ever seen her before, so nobody knew what she looked like, making her the perfect person for Ruan Wushuang to become.

It isn't revealed until I think like a little over halfway through the second book, but Ruan Wushuang was taken out of her courtyard in the harem through a secret underground passageway. She traveled a lot and eventually made it out. However, she grew sick and was taken in by an abbot & a nun (?) named Qingjing at a temple where she developed a fever and eventually forgot her memories and her own name.

She was eventually spirited back to one of the prefectures (forgot the name rip) where she slowly began to recover some of her memories, but not all of them. She also met big brother Meng there (I forget his name I just remember this nickname LOL) and eventually did develop honest feelings for him because well, he was close to her age and she had forgotten everything else.

But she eventually remembered everything and the Emperor, who had long since heard wind that someone with Ruan Wushuang's identical face was seen outside, plotted to spread rumors that the Crown Prince (Ruan Wushuang's son) was poisoned and so she eventually came back to the capital because she couldn't bear for people to scheme against her son or hurt him.

The entire second book as well mentions this kind of musk that causes women to become infertile. At first he thinks that it was the machinations of the other women in the harem, but eventually when Ruan Wushuang admits that she's Mu Ningyan, she also admits that she never wanted to have another child of his. That's why she kept using the musk. Obvs didn't work though, because she got pregnant with his second kid.

The ML is really hurt that she wouldn't want the child between them, just because it was partly his blood. This part made me kind of sad, but I was also like wtf do you expect from her after the BS that you did to her????

He asks her to forget the things of the past, but she's like lol f*ck you how do you expect me to forget all of that? He spends much of the book trying to win any kind of favor back from her, but he does act somewhat petty and s*upid during it tbh. He also acts somewhat mean to the Meng family, imprisoning the man twice just to strike back at our MC which only makes her feel guilty because she regrets involving the Meng family in all this BS. He's an Emperor, but god he acts like such a petty and selfish child a lot of the time.

After big bro Meng keeps getting imprisoned, the MC looks at the ML with hatred in her eyes and shuts herself up and doesn't speak to him. The MC basically resolves herself to never speak to the ML again. She ignores him, does not speak to him, and just generally acts indifferent to him to hurt him.

Eventually there is an attempted assassination on the ML where he is stabbed in the chest and falls into a coma. He does recover and is happy to see that the MC did care about his life or death. He digs out the criminals behind the assassination and some other machinations in the harem. But afterwards, the MC immediately goes back to ignoring the ML.

He begs her to forgive him, and says his typical sappy monologue about how he didn't know how much he cared about her until he lost her, and how even if he destroyed the entire Ruan family, it wouldn't bring his dead mother back. He made for her some egg dish because I believe his uncle told him that when his mother was small, the family was poor, but every year for her birthday they would make her this sweet steamed egg dish. I think the line that made me sad was when he asked the MC to not leave him, and that every year for her birthday, he'd personally make her this egg dish, a dish close to his heart because it was one of the things that he knew about his mother that he basically never got to meet as I believe she died like right when he was born.

He basically asks her what can he do to make her forgive him, and eventually she tells him that after she gives birth to their child, if she leaves or stays, it doesn't matter, but he has to promise that he will honor it.

When he asks her what she wants, she eventually says she wants to go home.

She returns back to the temple where she stayed when she first left the palace. She stays there for a while but eventually they tell her that staying there won't solve her problems. Qingjing tells her that she doesn't suit the temple.

The story ends when the ML comes to the temple to pick up the MC, and she decides to just go back with him

ML's father never loved MC's aunt, who was his legitimate wife, he just used her I think as a shield?? or something??? for his real love, which was ML's mother. But he was kinda wishywashy about his feelings at the end and always ate her (poisoned?) longevity noodles she made every year for his birthday so idk man lmao to me he was just a loser LOL

Mu Ningyan is actually a real girl and not just a made up identity that Ruan Wushuang took over. Originally she was the doted on daughter of the prestigious Mu family, who had a lot of wealth I believe. However, she will later on escape from her home because her father dies and afterwards her adopted brother Mu Tiancheng takes over the Mu family. Originally she very much liked this big brother of hers, but he in reality actually hated her and her family.

Mu Tiancheng is actually the son of her father's best friend, who killed himself and the mother also died because her father pushed all of the blame onto his father's head after they were discovered doing some shady stuff I think. Mu Tiancheng says the only reason her father took him in was because he felt guilty for being the reason his family all died out.

She runs away once I believe but is quickly caught and imprisoned in the home again.

She eventually runs away again only to find that she's pregnant with his kid. She gives birth to the kid and lives a quiet life together. She eventually takes up a job doing some embroidery work, but on her way home, she runs into her brother's subordinate I think. She is then captured and returned back to the Mu family home. Mu Tiancheng is very angry that she ran off, and dares her to run off again and see what he does to her.

She is separated from her son and begs Mu Tiancheng to let her see him, but he doesn't answer her, only coldly stares at her. Eventually he agrees to let her and her son be together, but she has to promise him something. Mu Ningyan agrees to do anything he asks of her.

Basically, he tells her, that she can never leave him again. From the story...

If he goes somewhere, she goes with him. Consequently, if he goes to hell, she has to go with him. In this life, he would never again let her leave him one step!

FL's relationship with ML is the definition of Stockholm Syndrome, simple as that. Author really portrayed himself as god in this novel, where a male like ML in ancient china, is shown that he can do whatever he wants, and get away with it. Before ML becoming Emperor, he r**Ed FL, to marry her and use her family's power, and everything is justified because he loves her, and FL's child is used by the ML to keep this toxic relationship till the end. Everything in this novel is wrong, and overdramatic.

Funny thing it's a "HE", good job author, you really made FL to think: "Everything is fate" and that she has a "face of fortune". So disgusting, I feel bad for every character being forced in Stockholm Syndrome.

The ML is utterly disgusting. He's an idiot, a rapist, pathetic, weak, and, once again—a rapist. In short, an awful man.

He killed her aunt. Yes, he had a reason but girl he killed your aunt! Can you at least try to be a little hurt? Show some reaction? But no, nothing at all.

The FL was imprisoned in the palace for years just because she wasn't a virg*n before they got married. (Because ML r*ped her.)

FL was r*ped by someone she didn’t know, and when ML found out, he locked her away and took their son from her. But guess what? The person who r*ped her that night was ML himself. So, he punished her for something she didn’t even do!

And why? Because her aunt had killed his mother years ago. He didn’t even want to kill FL, but his so-called stepfather threatened him—an EMPEROR—by saying he would kill FL otherwise. So, to protect her, he decide to neglect her? Like... you are an EMPEROR, man. How pathetic and weak do you have to be to only use your power to hurt FL?

He slept with multiple women just because they looked like FL. That was truly disgusting. At that moment, I knew I would hate this novel.

In some parts, it's mentioned that he didn’t sleep with his concubines, but then, after FL dies, he takes concubines who look like her. We even get POVs from those concubines, where it’s written that he 'embraced' them but was actually thinking about someone else. How romantic. Can I throw up now?

Anyway, towards the end of the novel, I guess the author changed their mind and tried to redeem ML—at least by making him not a full-on manwhore. So they went with the classic "he took concubines, held them in his arms, but nothing actually happened" excuse.

At one point, FL dies and what does the Emperor do? Neglects their child for an entire year and takes her cousin as a concubine just because she looks like FL. My stomach and heart couldn’t take this level of disgusting behavior. Oh and yes he r*pes her too. At this point, what is this novel even about?

He literally pushed FL to the brink of psychological exhaustion. And yet, we are supposed to believe he loves her, just because instead of ruining her life, he’s staring at her palace through the window? He put zero effort into his so-called love and just chose the easiest way out.

And then, in her second life, he still managed to ruin everything. Great job, you fcker.

Okay, I get it—ML is a tr*shy, abusive man. But why does FL forgive him? Like, girl, can’t you even use your brain? Maybe try to be smarter and not go back to him?

This novel had such a strong start, but it became painfully repetitive. Almost every chapter was just ML hurting FL in a different way, and in the end, she dies. Then, somehow, she comes back to life—either in her cousin's body or something else (I skipped that part because I was too disgusted). But of course, ML continues ruining her life again.

And then, the most predictable, overused trope happens—ML gets injured while saving FL.

I saw this coming 50 chapters ahead because every single event in this novel follows the same cycle. Since the author needs a happy ending, they have to make FL forgive him somehow. And what’s their genius idea?

Make ML get hurt to gain FL’s sympathy and to show their “love.”

The moment I realized FL was going to forgive him, I knew I wasted my time reading this sh!t.

This man did everything to her—r@ped, ass@ulted, and mentally @bused her in every possible way—and yet, she still forgives him. I AM SO DONE with FLs always forgiving and choosing to go back to their dumbass MLs.