The hot spring palace arc was very sweet in developing their feelings for each other, even if I wasn't entirely sure of the politics that got them there because my MTL was weird and I was lazy to read it in Chinese. Really furthered their feelings, and had me really worrying about how they'll get along after they were out of this sanctuary part of their lives. A lot of the story has a little bit of underlying tension about how things will turn out, but the tension never gets so much that it gets annoying and unresolved, because what the author sets up, they deliver.

The other transmigrator prince visiting arc was cool in the way it showed FL interacting with more of the world around, and I just really like the prince. It also set up so much later story, which I loved. Big fan of how author will mention things to follow up with later.

Didn't really like the arc (?) right before her faked death where her mother was super against the marriage, and I spent most of that time really wondering how things would be able to move forward, since it all felt like it was at a standstill. I felt her mother was being obstinate being against the emperor purely because of his position, and not even considering him as a person in all the years that he's known FL and how he's treated her in all that time. Also disliked FL a little for thinking about breakup a little purely because of her mom, when it just felt like her mom was being unreasonable, but I can understand why since her mom's opinion weighs so heavy in her heart. Big props to the emperor though for not being like f*ck you I'll just marry her anyways, because he could have easily done that, but instead respected her mother enough to not.

The faked death and failed coup leading up to it was kinda crazy, as well as how she survived it. The entire time she spent working in the transmigrator prince's court made sense as repayment, and worked as a really good way of pushing the story from the standstill and showing the emperor exactly he cares about her, as well as introducing the feminist idea of female court officials to the emperor, which helped with the ending compromise. Really like how the world got expanded even more when she was in this new country, because the author is really good at world-building.

Honestly, the final surprise invasion of the border town arc felt a little like the story just getting pushed longer, but I am a sucker for a full circle where loose ends get tied up, and a lot of loose ends got tied up really nicely with that arc, concluding several different character arcs. I did like just how much the FL had to use her wits and proved once again that she cared so deeply for the people of her country to just barely avoid death several times, and the final reunion between her and the emperor was absolutely amazing. It did help the ending where the FL doesn't really go into court anymore feel less like something robbed from her and more like a nice retirement, because if I had to do that I'd also decide that I was allowed to stop working too.