Also, I didn't expect there to be a gay couple and more so Qi Wang and Chu Wang!!!!! I lost my sh*t after that lol

then the author brought the extra and I really thought it was a sweet dessert after a heavy meal but she (the author) didn't forget her style and fill up a mug of bitter coffee... it's a happy end, happily ever after, yes,... but I'm still feeling it's not entirely a happy ending.. dang it...

The only one that made me stop thinking 10 sec was the first prince ending, seriously, didn't saw that coming, but then that explains his action during that hunt

only women

The romance is extremely slow-burn because Li Xian is a lesbian and she saw Wanyue as a man. She could not fall in love with her because she believed Wanyue was a man. It was only after her identity was revealed did Li Xian finally start falling for her. This completely endeared me to both Li Xian as a character and to the story in general. It's just something I don't get to see much and I deeply appreciate it. I do wish the reveal happened earlier, but that's the only real issue I have with it.

Lin Wanyue at first is somewhat obsessive on her goals to the point of actually demonising her enemies and looking at her world in a Black and White manner. Of course Li Kingdom = Good, Huns = Bad. And I was afraid that the story will actually support her manicheistic view. Thankfully, her character development actually shatters this notion and makes her learn to compromise.

Li Xian was difficult to me to care about because she has little empathy for those who are not her brother, including Lin Wanyue in the beggining, and seees innnocent life as disposable. Every person, every single life is just another piece in her chessboard. She is so manipulative even to her most loyal servants that you can sometimes feel your sympathy for her character dropping. Thankfully, again, Character development comes to the rescue.

This is a Yuri novel, you know from the beggining they end together. However, as I said before, it feels more like their relationship hits a wall and does not develop for several chapters of the story, even when they are married. While there are understandable reasons (Li Xian is a lesbian woman, not a bisexual woman, thus she cannot fall in love with a man, and I like very much that this aspect of her sexuality is NOT toyed with), it hurts their development.

Thus when they are finally honest with each other, you can enjoy and rejoice in every momemnt

the MC learns that she has been used for years by the FL. I mean she knew that already, having seen the silk reports (that we still got no resolution as to where they came from, since Xiao-Ci burned them, but whatever). But she then learns how she cruelly would allow the soldiers she has fought with for years to starve to craft up a scheme with a Hun chief by stealing their supplies, cruelly murdered 20 of the same soldiers to then go on a charade with the MC, etc. All of this, Li Xian doesn't even dare tell to her face, acting like a teenager breaking up through a text message.

So naturally MC is pissed. And remains pissed. For almost three years. Not seeing her for a moment. And again the "romance" becomes a problem in my mind when she then after three years finally returns, still in love with Li Xian.

In particular the dynamic between Qi and Chu seemed very strange to me. Qi suddenly revealing that he is in love with Chu and isn't their blood-related brother came out of nowhere, and goes nowhere, and isn't explained either. Very odd.

Wtf was with leaving the person they both consider to be their DAUGHTER behind as they elope after faking the MC's death?! What the hell was with not caring one bit about the common people despite a few chapters earlier considering the idea of retiring early AFTER a worthy successor has been groomed? That just came out of nowhere and seemed COMPLETELY out of character for BOTH of them.

Another minor pet peeve of mine is that in this ancient setting, no one seems to mind gay relationships. Or how prevalent they are. There's at least three in the story: The main leads, the two shadow guards, the miracle doctor who has the hots for Li Xian (and I think they are hinting at the fact that she might've been getting busy with the Empress before she passed? Or did I misunderstand that part completely and she just fancied the Empress and that sorta transferred to her spitting image, Li Xian?), and finally Qi who has the hots for Chu. But I can look past that, as I am used to most GL and BL to have a very high % of gay or bi-sexual people in them even though it does kinda take me out of the story.