Hah, am reading this via MTL right now and just had to share this amusing scene. The ML, who has never touched alcohol before, was pretty much goaded to drink by one of his brothers (whose actions are pretty much being supported by the emperor) and became drunk. He decides, in the middle of his bath, to join to MC in her own bath. While bathing, we have this conversation: ML: Your buns are bigger. They were smaller when you first came but they've obviously gotten bigger. MC: *blushing like crazy* ML: Why is this? How did they get bigger? MC: *continues blushing; tries, but fails divert the ML's attention while helping wash him* ML: *poking and feeling up the MC* See, they're heavier too. How did you make them bigger? *continues pestering MC with this question* MC: *exasperated* I'll tell you but you have to bathe first! ML: *very obediently* Please help me bathe! When they leave the bath and enter the bedroom, the eunuch beside the ML is standing outside and is confused why the ML is asking the MC about small buns becoming big buns. The MC is trying to dry the ML's hair but he's not having it and sulks that she's still not telling him how her buns became bigger. MC: I'll tell you once your hair is dry. MC: *sitting obediently like a child (the MC is actually reminded of their two children from her previous life)* Please help me dry my hair. Later that night, the MC has a dream where she's being chased by the ML who is holding two buns in his hands and asking why the buns got bigger.
Confirmed ML is Boobs man lol more spoilers please about the relationship between MC's kids and the crown princess' kids
Yes it was the 2nd master Chen Spoiler: What happened The 2nd master Chen had a childhood sweetheart (iirc, his cousin). However her status was quite low, so the family forced him to marry his current wife (the crown princess' mother). The 2nd master disliked his wife and preferred to spend time with the sweetheart. The legal wife found out and got jealous. She made the sweetheart died on childbirth. The 2nd master felt guilty and doted the child. The legal wife got jealous again and plotted an accident on the way to the temple. The child (MC) went missing, but actually the legal wife sold the child. It's ridiculous that all the disaster that happened was in Chen's family was actually caused by the legal wife's selfishness (crown princess' mother). If not because of her insistence, the family wouldn't fall and get destroyed.
Still in the middle of rereading this, but they are harmonious—on the surface. The son feels envy towards MC's kids but isn't resentful, but the daughter has completely blackened. Tbh though, so far, the MC's kids don't feel too much negativity towards them. They're cautious, yes, but nothing negative so far. But I also haven't read this in a long while and have to reread some parts for clarity so take with a grain of salt. Actually, the MC's daughter, Wanzhou, and her relationship with the other daughters is quite interesting. If I remember correctly, she ended up marrying the guy the eldest princess and the second princess fell in love with and fought over, Fu something. There seems to be quite a bit controversy over that, actually, from the readers, especially given the reasons why other princesses weren't able to—the second princess ends up almost drowning and is rescued by a guy, and the ML, who is already Emperor and sick of this daughter, sends a decree to have her rescuer marry her. In another earlier incident, this time with a daughter from another concubine, the sisters were gathered together in the residence of the first princess iirc, and the third princess makes remarks over her jealousy that Wanzhou gets an artificial pond to use as an aquarium. Wanzhou says something like: well, ask imperial father then. This causes the third princess to explode and say not everyone has a favored mother who is pampered by their father, not everything can be spoiled rotten like her. When Wanzhou went back to her palace, she realized a couple of things: 1.) the eldest sister who, when they still had the rank of junzhu instead of gongzhu, usually would have been the peacekeeper and resolved the problems between the sisters as her duty as the eldest sister/daughter, just smiled and watched today. 2.) the trigger for third sister's outburst was second sister's words. 3.) it was rude of her to say those words to third sister and third sister truly had a point. I actually really liked this part. Usually, in harem dramas, we only see the schemes of concubines but imperial princesses were no less crafty than their mothers, if not already more. Also, the various relationships between the sisters and the way they evolve is pretty great. My CN is super rusty so sorry for the lackluster summary. Actually, as a reference: Spoiler: ML's Children and Wives Empress Chen shi Second Daughter, Zong Wanshu Eldest Son, Zong Duo Guifei Su shi (MC) Fifth Daughter, Zong Wanzhou Second Son, Zong Yue Third Son, Zong Qian Xianfei He shi Third Daughter, Zong Wanchan Fourth Daughter, Zong Wanpei Sixth Daughter, Zong Wanling Defei Xu shi Eldest Daughter, Zong Wanxian Fifth Son, Zong Jian* Shufei Hu shi Fourth Son, Zong Xuan Pin Li shi Pin Zhao shi Guiren Ma shi Guiren Qian shi Guiren Qiao shi *=Zong Jian's biological mother was a Lingyuan Zhong shi who died when he was still a baby. He was picked to be adopted by Xu shi when ML asked MC who should have him. IIRC, that Zhao girl kidnapped him and took him to the summer palace and begged either ML or Chen shi to let her adopt him. It was a bit of a mess. **=Only Zong Wanling, Zong Jian, and Zong Xuan were born after ML started favoring MC. MC admits it made her feel a bit uncomfortable but she acknowledged that it's inevitable. But also, in her last life, Zong Jian was the eighth son, not fifth. Which means MC is monopolizing him more than she had expected.
I think the one person the oldest son feels resentment towards, though even that is confusing for him, is the FL as he initially believes she is the reason why his father doesn't favor his mother, who is the main wife, and thus, does not spend much time with their family unit/him and his sister. However, he also acknowledges that the FL is genuinely a kind/good person and kind of struggles between resenting her for "blocking" his mother's favor and his inability to dislike her because he hasn't seen her mistreat anyone or experienced any mistreatment from her. His resentment of the FL completely goes away when he discovers the truth about why his father dislikes his mother (namely, the fact that before the FL even entered the palace, the ML already disliked the crown princess as she was responsible for various miscarriages/stillbirths/deaths of concubines in the backyard). The son is a good, if conflicted kid. As for his sister, the 2nd princess--she is an interesting character. For the most part, she's annoying as heck but she does genuinely love and worry over her brother (unfortunately for said brother, her, and their mother's, good-intentions in coddling him and being overly cautious with his health actually make things worse). She does get better, though it is less shown and more said in the end. I think (MTL or the author has a habit of making mistakes with names...for instance, in a conversation between three princesses, all may be referred to as "wanwan" which, as you can imagine, is confusing) her relationship with the 5th princess (aka the FL's oldest daughter) thaws after she (2nd princess) marries. At least, they seem to still communicate (assuming that I correctly figured out who the author was actually referring to at this scene) with one another. However, in what is, I think, her last appearance (in one of the extras, I think) which occurs some years into the future, she is shown to have matured a lot and regrets her behavior when she was younger. I'm not sure how many years in the future this scene takes place in, though. I liked how the children affected/changed the dynamics of the harem. There's a period of peace when the concubines/wife focus their attention on raising the children and have accepted that the ML favors the FL and that isn't gonna change anytime soon. It's not until the children start getting older that conflicts rise again as the concubines/wife start competing for their children's positions/future. For instance, the fight changes from competing for the ML's favor to trying to make sure your daughter marries well/nearby or that your son has backing for the fight to the throne (which, to be fair, can also be grouped with the daughter's marriage). It's also interesting to see the different dimensions of the characters (Fortunately, these characters aren't flat...there is no purely good or bad person. Even the biggest villain(s), whoever they might be in your opinion, is shown to have their soft spots. The soft spots are almost universally their children. Also, I liked that Spoiler: Princess Chen is shown to have her own demons when it comes to some of her actions. She may not care about hurting people outside her family, but while her descent into madness seems to be triggered by the fall of the Chen family in general, I would argue her mental deterioration began some years earlier after she Spoiler ordered her mother to commit suicide in order to protect the Chen family as a whole but more specifically, her son's chances of becoming the Crown Prince. . After she gets word that the deed is done, she pretty much locks herself in her room in the dark for a day or two crying and then ends up isolating herself completely in her palace for a couple of years, not coming out for any reason during that time. It's Princess Chen, more than anyone else, who is the architect of her family's downfall, though that isn't to say the Chens don't also have their share of the blame. I do wish the author mentioned (or maybe they did but MTL didn't make it clear) what happened to the fifth prince when Spoiler his adopted concubine mother and her family are executed for treason , especially since Spoiler he discovered that not only was it likely that she poisoned his birth mother in order to be able to grab/raise him so that she will have a son to rely on in the future, but that she also basically sold his older sister (her biological child) in marriage in order to increase his chances to being named Crown Prince. Though he's old enough that he isn't living with his adopted mother anymore, he is still one of the younger children of the ML.
Given how Chen shi and Wanshu talked about MC, Duo's reaction is inevitable. MC took the brunt of Duo's emotions, whereas his half-siblings were only envied. But their relationship really changes as Duo gets older, matures, and realizes the depth of it. I think by the end of his side story, he respects and treats MC like an aunt. Well, ML is usually fair when it comes to his children. Fair doesn't mean doting, as he pampers MC's children differently than others, but he's leagues better than most imperial fathers, especially his own. That's probably why he doesn't feel strong negative emotions towards the others. Actually, ML and Duo are extremely alike, and ML recognizes this too, which is why he tries to be kinder to him, as much as he can without forgetting he is a monarch. (And this is more pronounced in his side story, where we see him in action, trying to realize his goals while also falling for someone below his station—Meng Ruge, a girl from a jianghu martial arts family, iirc.) Of course, some people may misinterpret his intentions but I think he usually doesn't give his children any unwarranted punishments. Duo, for his part, also recognizes this because ML doesn't appoint a crown prince until the very last few chapters when they're older and they both have a "heart-to-heart" (Duo is 17 then). And, ML crowning him 'Rui' Wang, should have said enough, I think. Other people may misinterpret ML's actions, but ML and Duo both know what is happening and why. The second princess... was raised by Chen shi, and her servants. But whereas Duo took the time to analyze his surroundings and come into his own conclusion, Wanshu took their word for it and directed her negative emotions to MC and her kids without realizing the why behind the what. She gets her dose of karma when her and Duo's relationship deteriorate because of accusation she makes towards Duo when ML decrees her marriage with Song Ming. The princes are great, but I think the plight of all the princesses is very interesting, given how different they all turn out to be, and how their relationship with their siblings, mothers, and father shape their mindset and their future. But one thing I can say for sure is, Whether it's any of the ML's wives and their relatives, any of the princes and princess, any of the ministers—no one is flat. Everyone has needs and wants that pit them against others, but they're not cartoonishly villainous. I think Mask's stories are beautiful because of that. No one's evil for the sake of being evil.
How did the Su family react? Do they act shamelessly to mc? Do they aware that mc is with the crown prince?
No, the Su family is actually a good family who don't want to cause any trouble for the MC. Don't just look at the selling off of the MC--it is something that weighs on the mother's conscience and she does cry and scold the family when she has to confront it, saying if the husband wasn't injured and could work/the family could get by, she wouldn't have had to sell off "her daughter." It's not that the family doesn't care about the MC--she remembers that as long as there was something to eat in the family, she would always get a bite and she remembers one time her dad was able to save part of his wages up and took her out to buy sweets, letting her sit on his shoulders. The event that precipitated her selling also was not the first time the family struggled to get by but in the past, the mother was always able to scrounge together something in order to buy food for the kids. As harsh as the decision was, selling the MC to, she believed, a noble master, (at least that is the impression I get she had about who the MC was being sold to) was a good move for the family (at least until the second brother screws it up). The money lets the family move out of the slums and they could have lived comfortably for a long time so long as they watched their spending. It also allowed for the brothers to marry (well the older one, the second one is...well, he's his own thing). Anyway, the male lead eventually works to have the Su family become MC's backing in the capital. Spoiler The second Su brother, Su Hai (SH, the one who gambled away the family's money received from the sale of the MC, and who is responsible for them moving back into the slums) is given a chance by the ML to make something of himself and sent to the border to be trained and placed as one of the soldiers there. By this time, he (SH) has learned from Master Pei (the guy who purchased MC in the first place) that the MC is the favored concubine of the ML, aka the crown prince. SH spends some years at the border without his family or MC knowing and he ends up doing well--he becomes a hero when he captures one of the princes (I think at least; he captured a high-statused POW) of one of the border tribes/countries that keep trying to invade and brings the captured guy to the capital where he is celebrated/honored as a hero. By this time, the MC and ML already have kids and the ML is the emperor. Anyway, SH arrives and has matured; he is awarded a knighthood (I think?) and, due to his success in raiding (*cough*looting*cough*) enemy camps at the border, also quite a wealthy man in his own right. The ML gives him a residence as he gets promoted and all the bells and whistles of being a national hero and SH gets to meet the MC for the first time in years (he also runs into--that is, they purposefully run into him--his oldest niece and nephew) and informs her he will be bringing the rest of the Su family to the capital. However, he will watch them and she does not need to worry about them embarrassing her. This is the moment the MC realizes the ML is helping her stay separated from the Chen family and giving her her own familial backing (at this time, though not quite publicly spread, the MC and main wife/empress are aware of her true identity and have had a brief confrontation over it. Anyway, the Su family arrives in the capital (mother (M), father (D), oldest brother (J, since I believe his name is Su Jiang) and the older brother's wife and two children (gonna call the wife JW for jiang's wife, and the two kids are...not relevant). Only once they are in the capital and in the new home (which is better than any home they've ever lived in and even has a couple of servants, plus possibly more if they need them), SH speaks with them a bit and then privately speaks to his parents where he tells them about MC (Pan'er), her husband (the emperor) and all that good stuff. They are shocked, naturally. Meanwhile, J is tired and planning to rest while JW is being annoying and also complaining about SH kicking them out of the room to talk to the parents and wondering what secret thing he doesn't trust them with--and why doesn't he trust them? J kinda snorts and says it's not him SH doesn't trust to keep his mouth shut and so on....it should be noted JW is already feeling pretty arrogant due to suddenly having a brother-in-law who's a national hero...although that is also tempered by the knowledge that she did not treat him well before he went to the border (she was blamed for his choosing to leave bc she instigated the family separating; SH left and didn't tell the family where he was going). Su parents pretty much say they and Pan'er (MC) have nothing to do with each other and that they will not embarrass or bother her (basically, they won't ask her for anything; the mother states that everything owed has already been paid and what not)...they are pleased, if stunned, that she is doing so well though. Anyway, it turns out they can't just stay out of capital intrigue though so the ML gives the father a title (I believe he's an Earl or something....it's basically just a flashy title for show and...that's it) which comes with a new home (so the family moves again) and the entire family are taught the proper/expected manners/behaviors in the capital; in particular, the two women in the family (M and JW) are taught by a palace lady the rules of the palace as they will be going in to meet MC. It's an awkward meeting, as you can imagine, while JW is scared stiff by the grandness of the place (and MC) and also kept under a tight leash by M. They have a meeting and as they are leaving, M hurries out in the lead bc she's uncomfortable (for various reasons...she's a poor country lady in the palace, she just saw the daughter she never thought she'd see again who she picked up, then sold, and is now the favored concubine of the frikken emperor, etc...) and ends up taking the wrong path (followed by a palace servant who is struggling to keep up as well as JW) and runs into Empress Chen's mother (ECM) as she's basically cursing the MC. Naturally, M forgets she's in the palace, especially upon finding out WHO this woman is (the one responsible for the MC being 'lost' and presumed dead as a child) and goes into Mama bear mode and confronts ECM...they fight (literally, by which I mean M basically beats ECM black and blue) and ECM's maid (ECMM) tries to interfere so JW sighs and joins in because she can't just watch her mother-in-law be 'bullied'...ECMM and JW fight and that fight is more equal in that both sides are injured....long story short, it's a big commotion that draws the attention of pretty much everyone. MC shows up along with Empress Chen (EC; and she's there bc this is happening in front of her palace gates) and the ML...ECM tries to blame M who turns it around and recounts what ECM said (this is very bad for ECM and thus, EC) and basically pulls the "how can I not defend my daughter from this poisonous woman who plotted against an innocent child and blahblahblah." EC doesn't really have any choice but to apologize for her mother, promise that ECM will personally go to the Su family to apologize when able to (ECM is pretty beat up while M is...I dunno, maybe she has a scratch or two on her) and basically pull ECM and ECMM into her palace and try to mitigate the fallout from this (because there's no way they can keep what happened--and why--quiet). So that is really the capital's introduction to the MC's adopted family... They are, in the end, a well-intentioned bunch who are just trying to live their lives and keep their heads down in this new and very different environment without somehow harming the MC's reputation/face..and also SH's, since he's now a military official (also, the mother thinks SH does nothing but go out and drink all day with friends when he says he's going out to work....she's unaware SH going out to drink with others is in order to gather information to help keep his family and the MC safe from whatever machinations others are planning) Oh, and the MC's second son, who is a bit of a martial arts/military nut even as a kid, is super excited to learn SH is his uncle and probably wishes he could latch on and never let go of this national hero and actual military man...
I agree. I found the side story about the eldest son hilarious...loved the switch in gender dynamics and the reaction to what ended up being their wedding (for those who don't know, the bride was slated to marry someone else and the supposed-to-be groom--and his family--were all there, sitting peacefully as guests while the bride wound out marrying someone else instead...the bride's side was very confused). As well as the scene where Rui "jumped" onto the rooftop to talk to the bride-to-be the night before her wedding (I say "jumped" bc his martial arts is...well, it was the guards around him who brought him to the rooftop and then had to immediately disappear so as not to ruin his image in front of the girl he loves). I will say that I think part of what allows Rui--then Duo--to develop as he did (observe and critically analyze the events/people around him) is because of the people around him (his mother, the servants, and even--maybe especially--his sister) in addition to the education he (and all the boys) received. Given the time period, while the ML was progressive in that he had his daughters educated as well, there's simply no way they were educated in the same vein as the sons were, nor would he be as strict with their education. It's outright stated the ML believes it's the duty of males to allow their women to live a carefree life in the inner yard so he's stricter with his sons than his daughters. So while the sons might be expected to exhibit critical thinking skills, the girls are fine so long as they do their homework and work on their calligraphy. But as to the former point--Duo was born sickly so everyone in his mother's camp was very careful with him because he was their "hope." He faced a heavy burden that was simply impossible to meet, especially because their coddling potentially made his health worse. He was usually treated as being weaker than he actually was. The sister is noted to truly love and be protective of her brother and this gets shown, unfortunately, when he's physically active(ish) and enjoying himself and she's fussing and admonishing him for 'not knowing his limits' or whatnot. All that coddling when he feels he's fine gives him a different experience from them, one where his feelings/experience is counter to what those who are supposedly in the "know" tell him. His mother tells him he can't do X because he's too ill...he does X and enjoys himself and feels relatively okay...but then he coughs a couple of times and people freak out and immediately treat him--and his environment--as if he is sick...its when they make a big deal about him coughing and he gets worked up that he starts coughing more and can't stop...and then the next day, he's sick in bed again. Did he get sick because he did X or was it because he got too mentally worked up/agitated when the people around him told him he was sick and closed off any draft (ventilation) in the room and upped the fire so the room was both stuffy and hot? For his sister, her experience seems to match what she was taught--their father does not favor her (that's obvious) and favors the children of the MC because he favors the MC. She doesn't know why he favors a concubine over her mother, she just knows that her mother is the main wife and she (and her brother) are children from the main branch of the family/the di children but their father spends almost all his time with this other woman and her children. The son might have been taught to think and analyze, but her entire education was centered on the idea that A- she was a girl who needs to marry in the future and B- in her life, she must always support her brother/help him attain the position of crown prince and later, emperor. Their education, unfortunately, shows. She is taught to be a source of quiet support and spends most of her time scheming for things (and even when its for herself, its for things that will allow her brother to benefit in some way, such as her marriage target). Meanwhile, her brother is taught the skills to lead--including taking in various information and weeding it out to make his own decision--and to be able to stand in front of everyone as the most powerful and final decision maker. So while she schemes, he is allowed to "think" and doesn't need to take action because he has people around him for that (her, the servants, etc...) and who are constantly considering him and what (they believe) is in his best interest. All he needs to do is focus on his studies and trying to display himself as the best candidate for crown prince (and to be fair, it's pretty clear in this particular timeline that his best qualification is that he is both the eldest son of the ML and his only di son). When comparing this eldest son to the one in the prequel, the change in personality is pretty crazy. I really enjoyed this novel. I did "read" (I skipped portions of it) the prequel (it focuses on the (eldest) son and his path to the throne and takes place in the first timeline...it was also written first) but enjoyed this more. Perhaps because I read this first, the other story didn't really appeal to me. But did make certain parts of this story a bit more amusing (for example,when she's looking at the newborn twins and thinks they look identical....she imagines her grown son's face on her daughter and shudders...her grown son in the first timeline is noted to be quite a fierce man whose main expression is basically a fantastic poker face). While the son is the 'fragile' (I use that term quite loosely) twin in this timeline, in her (MC) original timeline, he was a very stocky/sturdy kid who was considered fat as a child (she notes that Concubine Hu, in particular, once said he was fat and was genuinely disgusted by him) and he really gave off an air of being somewhat a bear of a man in the prequel. Though I might have been heavily influenced by one appearance in front of his wife when she's pregnant with their daughter, where he's dressed in armor and had just led some troops over when his brother(s) rebelled (the eldest brother rebelled and then encountered Concubine Hu's son who had led his (rather, her family's) troops over, ostensibly to prevent the oldest brother from successfully rebelling). But I digress.... I really did enjoy that this story showed that people aren't black or white but gray. The "big bad" of MC's original life was probably the empress (Empress Chen) and that kind of is the case here though her threat level is heavily reduced. However, we get to explore her, her thinking/reasoning behind her actions and see that she is really just trying to live the life she had been raised to believe is her right. We see her cruelty but we also see her weakness/fragility and, based on her memory, get to see a time when she was just an innocent little girl who was genuinely fond of her Shu sister (the MC, it turns out) and how she is (basically manipulated to) turned against her by her mother. Furthermore, we not only see her trying to project the image of the virtuous wife and regain the ML's trust/good thought (by not targeting the concubines and/or their kids...more specifically, not purposefully inducing miscarriages or stillbirths or anything like that), we get a look into her thought process as to why she is doing so (she might be behaving but she hasn't changed so much as adopted a different strategy for the time being). Even the MC isn't shown to be purely good/innocent. For instance, though it may be treated differently, she, just like the other women in the harem, seeks to get the ML's favor not necessarily because of her feelings for him but for the protection it can give. Her strategy may be different and her line in the sand may be drawn sooner than other women in the harem but it doesn't take away the fact that she purposely entangles the male lead for her own reasons. Several times she tells herself that this ML is not the emperor of her previous life, the one who favored her exclusively in the final decade or so of his life and who had already undergone many trials/tests and had years of ruling under his belt. Basically, while the ML in front of her is a young adult, she herself, despite being in the body of a teen, is in fact late middle-aged/in her golden years (I don't remember how old she is when she passes in the first timeline). For a long while, she doesn't seem to be aware she has actually fallen in love with the ML (this happens in both timelines as she notes how surprised she was that she couldn't sleep through the night after losing him in the first timeline, having grown used to sharing a bed with him for the last decade...she wasn't sure when her pretending in order to gain his favor seemingly changed to something more, or whether or not it did and she truly loved him or if she had just gotten submersed in her pretending)...when she realizes she loves him, she is probably more surprised by it than anyone else.
I am currently reading both novels, I started with Feng Xin and then got curious on this one. My understanding, from one of the author's translated notes, is that she didn't plan the first novel, Feng Xin, as a novel centered on Zong Yue (the 3rd Prince and first son of Ying Chong's female lead, Pan'er), but a novel she wanted to write about a certain theme (salt taxation during Ming & Qing periods, corruption and lower ranked officials jobs and involvement) and she centered it all around a female protagonist, Fang Feng Sheng. Although Zong Yue does appear in the first little arch of this prequel, the author stated in a note around the first 20 something chapters that she didn't know herself who the male lead was. The fact this novel presents several male characters that are attracted to the female lead and are potential suitors, with the fact Zong Yue is rather a dislikeable character from the first chapters up till he has already married the female lead, makes me believe she trully didn't initially plan to go for the old trope of making the female lead become a phoenix and score a domineering but overly loving prince. Is what made me more interested into starting this Ying Chong even before I'm done with the original prequel. It make me remember how much I'd like for Chongfei Manual's Empress to actually have her own spin-off rebirth novel, where she tries to not marry the scumbag her husband Emperor turned out to be. Probably, the author felt pity for Li Consort during the writing of Feng Xin and got a similar urge to give her justice, only that she thought this woman would still end up with the same man and she only needed/wanted to make up for the lost youth and years missing each other.
For sure Feng Xin is much more focused on politics and specifically the Salt Tax. I think my issue wasn't with the story itself, per se, and could see myself enjoying it more IF I had read the story first. Because I read Ying Chong first and learned about Feng Xin only later on, I went into the story expecting more akin to Ying Chong--the focus of the two stories are quite different (one is nearly solely character-driven while the other is more policy-driven) and when you go in thinking you're just going in for a "mindless" read (I prefer not to MTL stories that require too much thinking about or to understand the plot itself as I am already working to translate MTL into something I understand and can read), it becomes a bit jarring as you find yourself delving more and more into specific policies and political corruption. The author really did her homework and explained certain things/why such and such either took place or was so in the story but between my not looking for a "thinking" read given I was MTLing it and it being more politically driven with characters I already liked in the periphery of the story, plus my (albeit misconceived) expectations going into it, it made for a less pleasant read for me. It's not to say the story is bad--I did enjoy what I read but I did find myself skipping over quite a bit of the story when they got more in depth about the salt tax as well as the corruption of officials and the salt merchants (at least the major families) on a more policy-centric level.
Am I misunderstanding the MTL, or the Crown Princess side did try to hindrance Pan'er's labor on both timelines? I somehow understood that the girl twin died stillborn on the first timeline, because it took to long for her to deliver the 3rd Prince and the girl stayed too long inside. The way it was narrated, sounded like Pan'er didn't have the proper help at the time (also, she was still CPs' maid and under her control). Now she's giving birth in chapter 73 and the Crown Princess' staff is retaining the Imperial Physician and also not handing Pan'er's eunuch the key, so he can go outside to seek a doctor. Edit: OK, not sure about the first timeline, but YES about the second, it's all this Mama Chen's own idea (it seems), and I hope the Crown Prince finds out about what she just tried to do.
OK, this is a spoiler from Feng Xing actually, but since it's related to this novel's Crown Princess and I am currently immersed on how stupidly evil she is in Ying Chong, I can't help to mention this fact here: I was wondering who killed the previous 2 wives Wei Wang (Zong Yue, Pan'er's first son) had before Fang Feng Sheng, turns out it was Empress Chen aka Crown Princess in this novel. She used some red powder stuffed in hairpins she gifted, and probably some other dirty things sent to them. Turns out, Consort Li intercepted the gift this time. Seeing that Consort Li (Pan'er) was an underdog for most of her past life and her son was also at the bay of Empress Chen's son (the Crown Prince at the beginning of Feng Xing), I understand the will Pan'er has to not get involved with the Crown Princess after rebirth, even though she's still sent into the East Palace as one of her people. It is admirable that, despite all the evil things she did to her and her son, she still choses not to take revenge, and focuses on getting the favor of the Crown Prince instead. I could still sympathize with the bride that was about to marry into the East Palace as the main wife and wanted to get rid (sending them away) of the maids provided by her family to please the Prince at the right moment, and be used by her as weapons to fight in the harem when other concubines entered; but as soon as her tacticts resulted to killing and provocking miscarriages, I stoped feeling sorry for her. It sucks that she became a tool for power to her family, but is not like she never had a true relationship with the Prince, her jealousy is just self-centered selfishness rather than frustration from sharing the man she loves. She is not eliminating rivals either, she just acts all Yandere for the sake of being the center of attention. I like that the author uses Pan'er as a character that does get jealous but decides to act cocquetish and spoiled in front of the Prince, while still being honest about how she feels, yet she's always aware that she can't monopolize the man due to her position and his. I sneer everytime the Crown Princess has inner monologues saying she needs to hand on what's still left of "their relationship as husband and wive" when it's obvious there's never been a proper one, because she never behaved as a true wife before, also talking about feelings... I can see the only feelings the Crown Prince had ever had towards any of his previous women were sympathy and duty to their relationship's status. Otherwise, he would had never tried to "favor" Hu Liangdi, a woman that was just planted to supress the Crown Princess but whom he doesn't seem to have any deep feelings for. Then, there are those two previous Tonfang, that just became invisible in the harem. Because their status was low, the Prince probably thought it was OK not to include them into his bedding list.
The first timeline wasn't so much hindering labor per se but rather, when ordered by the prince/husband to make sure Pan'er eats well and has enough to eat, sending her a lot of (good/rich) food without teaching her that one has to be careful not to eat so much that the baby becomes too big. Once the prince learned of Pan'er's pregnancy and stepped in, the princess basically chose to try to kill her with kindness. On the surface, everything she did was in the best interest of Pan'er and she didn't slight her in any way (at least, once she was ordered by the prince to care for Pan'er). However, she purposefully kept Pan'er in the dark about the dangers of eating too much (as well as too much of certain/rich foods) which could lead to the baby being too larger during labor and the possible death of both mother and child. She failed to send people who were both knowledgeable and had Pan'er's best interest (or at least that of her child/children) to help guide Pan'er navigate her pregnancy. When Pan'er went into labor, she also failed to take all measures (ie: alerting the prince, calling for an imperial doctor, etc...) she should have to safeguard the life of mother and child Given her intelligence, it was clearly done out of malice. However, I think even worse was her side intimidating/manipulating Pan'er to not tell the prince know about the stillborn daughter and erasing her existence. Pan'er wasn't able to properly grieve an I found it very sad that til the day she died in that timeline, she still never told anyone else (not her son(s) or husband/the prince (and then emperor) about the daughter's existence). In the second timeline, while the princess' side was responsible for intercepting the doctor(s) who were meant to oversee Pan'er's labor, she herself had nothing to do with it nor did she approve of such actions taking place as she was trying to "fix" the relationship between her and the ML. She neither knew of, nor approved, of what her side did though she did understand their reasoning. However, it wasn't solely her side (or more specifically, her momo(? the one who took care of her as a child and the most senior and closest servant by her side)) but rather, it was the machinations of outside parties who manipulate dthe situation into coming about. I believe, but am not positive, that the evidence, however little, suggested it to be the work of the ML;s two brothers who are favored by the emperor (more specifically. their concubine mothers. They arranged things so that the (two) doctors trusted by the ML and Pan'er could not be at her side, that pretty much all the rest of the imperial physicians were at the palace banquet happening that same night (to be on standby should something happen to one of the guests), etc...because they covered their bases so well, there was not enough evidence to really be able to accuse them of anything. However, Pan'er going into labor prematurely that night is noted by the ML as being due to having been exposed (purposefully) to something that would induce labor (she went into labor either after her dinner or in the middle o fit, I can't remember). The timing of the eldest son's illness and sudden vomiting was also noted to be very suspicious, having been too conveniently timed with the FL's labor.
Thanks for the explanation, I especially missed the bit that the CP didn't know about the daughter, by the MTL, I only understood that this daughter was sort of never mourned nor mentioned, not that the CPs specifically tricked her into not letting the CP know. It is, indeed, important to mourn still-born babies, we just saw this week how Christy Teigen & John Legend lost theirs and they chose to openly post photos of the tragic aftermath on social media, then when it was questioned by some users, others explained that usually hospitals encourage to do this things to properly mourn and not ignore the experience, causing psychological damage. Regarding the rest on the second timeline, I eventually got to the part these things were exposed in a inner monologue/narration, but there's still no proof of who exactly manipulated the situation from CP's brothers. CP is quite pitiful, having the position, his own father prevents him from exercising his duties and favors the other brother better. Also, his mother Empress is in an unfortunate marriage.
It's funny, because I am currently at chapter 95 of Feng Xing, the other novel where the first timeline happens, and the narrator is mentioning precisely this, however, I wonder if Pan'er ever got to know in that time-line, because she barely got told by the Su Family mother that she was actually picked up and not hers, before the narrative skipped a few years. It seems she knows and her son also knows, By the way, that part got me confused on whether the Prince would be unfaithful once more or that part was about the kids that were bornt during the time skip U_U" I assume it's brushed off just like that and not explained, because it happened at a time when Pan'er was just starting to monopolize the CP, she got pregnant again, but she had realized she couldn't behave the same as when they were both in the Southern trip. Also, girls were drafted into the Palace and 4 new beauties were sent to the ML. After reading the spoilers on the novel's page, I thought this arch would be more developed XD but it ended up just being something from the past that resurfaced to complicate their relationship but also to make them both reflect before and after going through the hardship of being plotted by one of the other princes.
^It's about the time skip when the kids were born. The beauties got drafted before though, I think? Since the biological mother of one of the said kids is was a Zhong Liangyuan from the new girls.
OK, so the Emperor is more a trashbag than I initially though XD He actually gets a stroke (?) while trying to indulge into two beauties. Someone has been deliberately sending him addictive drugs, with the premise those help to longevity but also with the stamina needed for sex (yup, man was greedy for power and sex), and The brother that schemmed against the CP trying to get Pan'er raped accuses the CP (ML) of being the one to use this tactic to make his father die early. The man has a stroke but doesn't immediately dies, and he actually has to witness how his unfavored and suppressed son (ML, the CP) acends the throne. Talking about karma... Edit: OK, so in the first life, this Emperor actually died on the spot, so this is a change of events, as the man gets to witness how the son he tried to prevent from holding his power gets to steal his position and also have him in some sort of house arrest with the 2 favored concubines (not the beauties he had when he had the stroke, but the women he used to neglect Empress Fu) taking care of him. This man just got to be Emperor because at the time there was some turmoil, several Princes fought, and the Empress had no choice but to raise him from the pool of candidates. The Dowager isn't even her biological mother, and that is probably why he could never dare to abolish Empress Fu, because the Dowager had her back. Also, this comes from Feng Xing, ML didn't fully love the FL in the first time-line, but he did feel sorry for her, and he was always aware that he found her "delicious" (euphemism to say he actually enjoyed having sex with her, being a man that didn't indulge in it). When the first novel progressess, is when the dirt from Empress Chen (here she's still the Crown Princess) starts to get out, so he feels more and more sorry for Consort Li (Pan'er) and his favor for her increases. At first, he just wants to supress the Empress, but after the whole matter of her being a daughter of the Chen family is discovered, the man can't feel more guilty for her being treated as sex-relief during the first part of their live together. ML also gets to eavesdrop on FL (Pan'er is Imperial Consort Li, then) explaining to Fang Feng Sheng (FL in Feng Xing, her daughter-in-law) her hardships when Zong Yue (her first son) was born, because she was unfavored and how the day she gave birth everything was so unfortunate (she wasn't aware she had been schemed); so the ML of this novel gets to listen for the first time how Pan'er had suffered (he seemed more oblivious to the Crown Princess misdeeds in the first timeline), and his attitude starts to change towards her. So, perhaps, he end up regretting not seeing her value earlier in the first life, and that is also the reason why Pan'er gets a second chance.
The thing about Zong Cong (ML) becoming an Emperor and ditching the "green card" and its officials (MTL says it's "Respect Room", not sure if it's correct). First, at this part of the novel, ML is pretty much monogamus.* Second, he has always hated others to tell him what to do. There used to be a system for visitng the different harem women in the past, but that was before the Crown Princess touched his first bottom line.** I am not sure how he plans to handle things like upcoming drafts, but right now, he is only trying to keep the appearances and still respect the Empress and his other women, because he doesn't want to be like his father.*** When the eunuchs from this "Respect Room" appear, like a month and a half after he's ascended as an Emperor, with the "green card", he gets mad and throws the tray, the next day, he abolishes this section, as a statement that nobody will control whom he visits in the night. Yes, he is already in love with FL (even though he hasn't fully reflected on it), and he is now aware that his "little vinegar bag" will hurt if he dares to be sexually unfaithful again; but what allows him to not succumb into these pressure that realistically almost none Emperor could avoid in history, is the fact he has enough heirs (well, compared to other emperors he hasn't, but is not like he has none) and he is known for not being a lustful man, so even if they try to push women on him, they'll most likely become caged bird decorations. ___ *I understood, more than what I've previosuly read from a spoiler, that the time he decided to bed other women it wasn't to give them stability. CP was too aware that he was being schemed against from too many flanks, espcially that brother Qin Wang (Qi, or Qing, I forgot, sorry. The one whom tried to set him up using FL), so he decided to bed (with the purpose of getting them pregnant) those 3 women because they were suitable to not be targeted and this way, he diverted the attention from Su Pan'er, who had NO backing other than himself. Even before FL appeared in his life, he was careful to choose who to "favor" and allow to have children: The Empress (Crown Princess at the time), because the Chen Family was powerful enough to watch her back. Hu Liangdi, for the same reasons, and because Empress Fu was her backing. Xu Liangyuan, because she comes from a family of generals and also would be hard to get trampled. It wasn't just the Crown Princess trying to prevent other women to gain a stable foot in the East Palace, but the Crown Prince's enemies trying to make sure he would have no heirs, so his position could be easily abolished. ML (Crown Prince at the time), didn't think enough that by doing this without explaining to Pan'er, he would hard her feelings and change the way she treated him, loosing the true love a little and getting back to the duty of securing his favor. Pan'er also realized that she had been kept in the dark for so many things, while simply being carefree and enjoying his protection without noticing she was being targetted. It seems this is something she wasn't able to guess on her previous lifetime. **The Crown Princess stablished a system so almost all the women would have a chance to be favored by the ML, but she calculated the days in a month, thinking she'd be the only one with a chance to get pregnant (her basis was wrong, anyway), and she also used tricks on the tea she served and other stuff, to make the other women unable to concieve. However, Hu Liangdi could see through this and she always succeeded on getting pregnant (the bad thing is, the woman was too eager and she not only damaged her body, she made her offspring weak). The Prince had long known of the Crown Princess killing and causing miscarriages, but when an unfavored concubine played some tricks and ended up confessing she was taking revenge for the loss of her fetus, the CP had enough with his main wife (she also did some dirty tricks and Pan'er was already recieving favor), so he started drawing a clearer line and only keeping the minimum acts so nobody would threaten the Crown Princess' position. ML knows the Chen family is strong and he can't just abolish her, but he also knows is not good for him to get rid of his main wife, while there are too many brothers trying to get rid of him. By the time this happened, he was already only visiting and bedding Pan'er. It was later, when they came back to the Southern tour that he realized he had to divert the attention from her and got three other women pregnant. ***His father is a trashbag, former weak prince with a huge inferiority complex, like the Emperor in The Cry of the Phoneix Wich Reached the Ninth Heaven. Hi happened to married a wife from a powerful family, beauty and virtuous, and he couldn't handle it, so he preferred to avoid her and indulge other women. In the end, he ended too lustful and addicted to drugs for his own good. He was never respectful to his main wife, and he was too cold-hearted to the Crown Prince, even too suppressing, since he didn't let him participate in Court not to execute any duties that would be normal for a Prince in his position. So ML trully doesn't want to be like his father, and that is why he puts up with Empress Chen/Crown Princess and her bs.
Yes, the draft happens before the time-skip. Unrelated, but I see the matter of Su Pan'er being from the Chen Family starts to being mentioned around chapter 118, which is decades before it happens on the first time-line. I wonder if they'll try to make use of it like they did on the other novel, but it'll end up backfiring hard... because this time, Pan'er doesn't have the help of a smart daughter-in-law to turn the scheme around.