I read this through MTL.

Mild spoilers and warnings regarding Imperial Harem tag
This novel is tagged imperial harem so readers should really be aware of this before jumping in. ML is the emperor and while the novel never describes the ML sleeping with other women and in some cases describes the act being faked by trickery, there are hints that ML's first time was with MC. However that is implied very lightly and I'm not sure if that's genuine since the ML has concubines so I still must make the assumption that with all the women there, he can't have fake slept with everyone. This is never fully confirmed by the author so you can choose whether you believe ML only slept with MC or ML slept with other women as well.

I think it's very hard to accept a harem novel but I got hooked into the writing and I wanted to see it through. The ending is HE. If you stick to the end, you will be rewarded. But before then, at around 200 chapters, I was rushing and slogging to reach the end to make sure it was a HE. The plot was well executed, the characters are human, imperfect but each with their own charm. However I rated this as a 3 stars not for the quality of the story, but for having to slog painfully for about a hundred chapters of harem infighting before reaching a satisfying ending. So if you have amazing patience, read to the end. It is barely worth it. I usually avoid harem novels like heck. As a feminist and modern woman, it's so hard to grasp, I don't know how I survived til the end of this novel. I really wanted to give up many times. I'm glad I didn't. Be warned that if you feel the same way as I do, you are probably not going to enjoy half of this novel. I almost wished I never read it but my curiosity pushed me to finish it. I only wish the author would have cut the harem infighting part in half and not tortured the readers so badly. Still after reading it, I can acknowledge that it was an interesting story with some neat plot twists. I hope this review helps you. I wish someone had written this review so I would have known what I was getting into. So be warned! If you can't handle 100+ chapters of harem infighting, don't read this.

I can't help but love this author. I love her writing style and the characters she depicts in her novels. They are so three-dimensional and no one is truly evil - just people with a good and bad side and who frequently do not make the best decision regardless of how smart or discerning they are.

Similarly to the other novel 'The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir', the ML is not very likeable. He is selfish, capricious, mercurial and at the best of times rather cold and uncommunicative (not to a... more>> great start). Admittedly, he's a bit of a scumbag. But then he is the emperor so I don't expect anything less. I will admit that I did MTL for the most part of the novel so there are some things or scenes which are a bit sketchy nevertheless I did get the gist of it.

Now to the MC, again here I liked how the author has written the female lead. She is level-headed and smart. Don't get me wrong she is not all-knowing despite having an advantage given her knowledge with some of the future events. I like how she doesn't go out of her way to be kind just because she is the female lead. For instance, if someone behaves s*upidly and tries to 'frame' her, she doesn't deliberately save them but allows the situation to play out and of course, even though she knows she is the protagonist and certain things won't happen to her but she's not s*upid about it. She behaves within the limits of her circumstance. I really like that she wouldn't go out of her way to show how smart or intelligent she is. In fact, there are times she retreats as it's safer to do so. I like how she refers to the emperor as her boss.

She uses her intelligence, education, background and knowledge to tackle a problem. Yes, that's right, she actually thinks through a problem and tries to solve it herself. She doesn't rely on the ML to solve her problems even though I'm sure he does when it is critical. Obviously, he is the male lead so he has his ways.

The MC, on my part, also gets a bonus for not falling in love with the ML at first sight or because he's handsome. In fact, understanding his situation for what it is (remember he has a harem of 3000 ladies) she tries to deliberately avoid this pitfall. I love MC, she is smart and discerning and most importantly I love how sensible she is. Even when they do 'get together'. Incidentally, even if it isn't very descriptive and it's definitely not smut, there is mature content. She thinks the ML would tire of her and ask the ML that he would allow her to leave if they decide to 'break-up'. This is definitely one of my favourite part of the novel. It makes me admire the MC even more.

A lot of political things happens in the novel which I won't elucidate. Throughout, you can see the ML falling in love with the MC. Don't get me wrong, he doesn't change overnight. He is still a scumbag for most of the novel he's still not very likeable. Most of his decision is not always the best and you can tell there are ulterior motives. Don't forget he may be the male lead but he still the emperor. He does truly care but he never forgets his position. The MC understands this and accepts that there is some situation where she has to consider the overall picture.

I highly recommend this novel but don't go in thinking it's all fluffy. <<less

I MTL-ed until the end. It's readable but I'm taking away stars because I despise the fact the the MC is so so spineless and brainless. It's mentioned how MC admired the Prime Minister so much because he (she) was very capable and was the only one in the court brave enough to go against the emperor when he (she) felt the emperor was making bad decisions. So what does MC do when she transmigrates in the PM's body? Fawn over the emperor like a bootlicker. Not to mention how... more>> OOC it is, it makes me wince how she has no consideration for the ori-PM's goals, principles, and reputation. Ugh.

What attracted me to this story in the first place was the synopsis. It talked about a capable and upright Prime Minister, and made me look forward to how MC uses ori-PM's secrets, reputation, and talents to impress the courts and the Emperor. But noooo. There was a scene early on where MC is on the roof and the Emperor sees her and orders her to come down, which scares her because she can't jump down so she starts trembling, then the other characters at the scene feel that she's pitiful. Multiple scenes show how she's called by the Emperor or targeted by other officials and how she would look wronged or how she'd take small steps in fear. She makes no effort in maintaining her disguise as a man, it's like she thinks it's enough as long as no one discovers she has b**bs and no pen*s. As for her bootlicking, I wouldn't have minded if she complimented him calmly/subtly, not in an overeager way that makes her come off as desperate. Kudos for not falling in love too quick though. The pacing makes it quite dragging and the ML is meh. But it did manage to keep me reading, mostly because I wanted to see how ML discovers the MC is actually a girl. Some bits were entertaining. <<less

I love this author, ever since I've read her other novel.

The beginning of this novel is really promising, I love the writing style, and seems like there will be a lot of political intrigues.

I can't wait to see more chapters!

Many thanks to the translator for picking this novel!

I really enjoyed this novel. The MC and the ML have a lot of chemistry. Some parts are very humorous. I was surprised at how suspenseful many of the scenes were, especially in the beginning.

I don't think the ML was cold or autistic, as someone speculated. I really feel for the guy, as his mother is a real b.

Yes, there's a harem but the ML only sleeps with the MC.

I enjoyed the narrative arcs that involved politics and it was refreshing to see a female prime minister.... more>>

Spoiler

In one part, a practical joke backfires and almost leads to war. The MC really outdid herself as politician!

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The last part was a bit draggy, only because I am not interested in military stuff. I know one reviewer was impatient with the Harem infighting, but I liked it.

There's an interesting love triangle involving the 2 MLs and the MC. I got major second ML syndrome. <<less