I did cry a little, on how he is dead. He asked her to be buried with him after her death, but being 21st cent lady, she didn't accept saying Born in same quilt does not necessarily mean to die in same pit

When he was asking her about burying together after her death, he held her hands and asked, how did I treat you, would you like to be buried with me after your death, when she said no and gave her reason he slowly let go of her hand and then his last breath

I really thought the author would expand more on the children's romance, but it's just brief scenes. I even shipped two of the children with other people

The first rule of soliciting customers is to always pay attention to their preferences, take their preferences as your own, and make them comfortable. Only then will they want to come back to you again

It's true that she was very touched by Yuwenxi's thoughts and consideration on the night she was injured, but after being touched, she still had to live her life as usual. That unrealistic fantasy had been packed up by her and thrown into an unknown corner on the first day she stepped into the palace. Calculation and competition are the themes of her life.

Yuwen Xi doesn’t care at all whether those women, whether dignified, gentle, charming or weak, are truly consistent in their treatment of him. All he wanted was a woman who could make him feel physically and mentally happy away from the tedious official duties. As for the jealousy between women, as long as it does not cross his bottom line, he can just watch it as a show to relieve his boredom

She probably thought that in the eyes of many people, at her stage and having given birth to four children, it was unnecessary for her to be jealous of a little singing girl. In fact, she would not go out of her way to make things difficult for other women just for the emperor. If when she first entered the palace, she had to do everything she could to win favor in order to survive better in the harem, then now, it is more for her children.

Indeed, no matter what Yuwen Xi's attitude towards her was, he had treated her very well in the past twenty-five years. All the fine clothes, delicious food, honor and privilege came from him. She couldn't do such a thing as enjoying the wealth and splendor brought to her by Yuwenxi while complaining that he was not sincere and considerate enough to her. She had not made any solemn promises to him, so how could she expect him to be true to her and have no regrets? In the final analysis, it's just what you give and what you get. That's what love is all about.

I was reallly surprised because the MC and ML had 4 children! Which is really rare for novels about imperial harem. I love it.

the end teared me up so much but I understand her decision not to be buried together with the ML when he died which makes the ML disappointed, but you really can't blame the MC for this. She's right, there's no need to be tied up together in death so why not go in to different ways? But it's still really sad.

the ML didn't give his whole heart to the MC but he loves their children. They are all so cute btw! I love them so much.

As we all know, she’s a transmigrated woman from modern times, BUT she doesn’t apply anything from her previous life to her current one. She knows she can’t do that here since it’s a different timeline, and she’s very cautious. She enters the palace and becomes one of the leading concubines—Consort Shu—so there’s not much for her to do in terms of gaining favor or rising in rank. She’s more like a “salted fish” at first.

You won’t see much blood or schemes involving her, at least up to Chapter 50+. It’s novel to me because it doesn’t feel like romance. I’ve read so many historical romance novels, but this feels foreign. It’s like I’m watching from the beams of her ceiling, with limited knowledge and perspective. There was even a conversation that got cut off at the end of a chapter, and when I moved to the next one, it was already a different day. I even checked three times to make sure I clicked the right chapter—and I did. There are many instances like this.

Sometimes, we don’t even know her thoughts or whether she actually had a hand in a scheme. We never really know her plans, and we even doubt if she truly intended what happened. It’s frustrating. I don’t know. There are so many things I want to say, but I’m afraid I won’t explain them clearly to my future self, so I’ll leave it at that and move on to the other characters.

Another thing—for me, the FL isn’t that bright. She just has immensely great luck, which is why she manages to live a somewhat peaceful life.

He’s not male-lead material. I’m warning you already. If you’re looking for a cold, aloof emperor with countless beauties in his harem who eventually falls deeply for the FL and slowly stops visiting the others—this novel is not for you. This ML is not what you’re looking for.

It’s too early to say, maybe, but I’ve already had enough of this novel. I just didn’t have anything else to read, so I tried it. It didn’t completely disappoint me since I still spent time reading it, but it has so much potential that didn’t fully develop. The story focuses more on the harem. We barely know anything about the court. He doesn’t even seem to interact with his children much—only with the FL’s children, based on what’s mentioned. He protects her, but not that much, since she also falls into schemes she herself set up—basically dealing with the aftermath of her own plans.

I can’t say much about the emperor because I don’t really feel his presence in the story.

If I list the characters who left an impression on me (and I usually don’t pay much attention to side characters), she would be one of them. She’s a wise empress—unlike many others I’ve read about. Wise not in the sense that she contributes to the country, but in the way she hides and controls her emotions.

The first time she lost her power felt abrupt because it wasn’t that extreme compared to other empresses who commit numerous evil deeds before being deposed. If she had continued being wise, she wouldn’t have been removed since she didn’t kill every single royal baby. That’s why I said there aren’t that many schemes in this novel, at least from what I’ve read.

Sadly, her Crown Prince died, and she almost lost her sanity. Thankfully, because of the Empress Dowager, she chose to relinquish her throne instead.

Maybe we don’t really know what’s happening inside her palace or her inner thoughts—that’s probably why I like this version of Noble Consort Liu. I’m traumatized by another Noble Consort Liu from a different novel, where she had so much depth and emotion that I started empathizing with her instead of hating her, even though she was the main antagonist.

The Noble Consort Liu here has a similar personality but is wiser. She’s not a love fool, which is why she maintains her position even though the FL surpasses her in many aspects of the harem. She even holds the empress seal and authority at one point. She knows how to use her brain, what can I say? And she doesn’t really plot much against the royal heirs, because of this, there are so many princes and princesses in the palace that I can’t remember them all anymore.