Aramintai

Maybe they'll do some extra episodes at most. Like a mini-series. But I dunno, I'm not holding my breath.
And the novel was written by a talented writer and got popular enough to warrant an adaptation. Some script writer coming up with same quality season 2 is highly unlikely. Probably gonna be s*it. And if they manage to do it, but some of the main actors won't be in it's also gonna be s*it.

I dunno, I've read FL doesn't want to do this hard fighting s*it no more, as she got some injuries. Maybe if they paid her a s*it ton of money, but it's still not gonna happen anytime soon - there's no novel, no script and actors' schedules are probably booked for the forseeable future. And did the drama do well in China? Judging by MDL's scores, it's not looking promising.

Yea, they def did right by omitting all this. This drama's focused on investigations, dark themes behind them and sweet revenge. Shoving dynasty wars into this would have overstuffed the plot. Maybe they can explore it in season 2, but I somehow doubt it's gonna happen.

Meh, def liking it better in the drama.
FL being the sole survivor with survivor's guilt and being called a cursed lone star is way more impactful.
And ML being a prince with some contention to the throne would just be too cliche and overcomplicate the plot, imho.

Crown Prince.

You should start worrying about it only if season 2 gets confirmed. So far it looks like a wishful thinking from greedy showrunners.
You can head canon they kick his butt too for now.

Oh, so the novel's CP was not the emperor's son?

Why the ef the prince would work as an astronomer though? Or he wasn't an astronomer?
FL being the prime minister's daughter is some crazy role reversal. The guy's the main villain here, lol.

I like what we got in the drama. Though the emperor not lifting a finger because of the prime minister's death is more believable than the royal's prince's death.

Also, did they deal with CP? Was it the same as in the drama with the chancellor? Or did he live in the end?

I don't think CP was involved in FL's family massacre, he looks too young, 30 at most. And since he had a tutor back then, he was still a green teen. Too early to get into the nitty gritty of political schemes.
He also had no apparent reason to kill FL's father, the father was about to quietly retire and wasn't a contender to the throne. The chancellor though had beef with him because FL's father got wind of his embezzlement schemes.

Furthermore, nowhere in the drama is it explicitly stated that CP was involved in the massacre. If the chancellor at some point had worked with him, he'd no doubt sell him out to save his skin.

The only known thing for sure is that CP was involved with Chen Luo - it was his royal guards that conveniently ran in to FL's banquet after she almost killed the chancellor. They were in cohoots ever since he heard Chen Luo got into contact with FL. He wanted to use both of them to eliminate the chancellor, preferrably with his whole clan and consort Shu, as she holds great influence over the emperor. It looked like he wanted to start his rule with a clean slate, with all of his father's favorites and corrupt officials eliminated. And at the credits scene he ordered to kill those who knew of his involvement in the bad omens hoax:
-consort Shu (doesn't know much, but is still a threat to his plans);
-Chen Luo (def knows too much);
-both leads (they know, but don't care).

If they ever do a season 2, the hooks may be that the first two get killed, the leads defend themselves against the assassins and then return to avenge consort Shu's death.

FL was raising a replacement, so can't be too soft on her or she's won't become a good boss 😅. Also, I think FL literally is incapable of doting, she's got that cranky, sarcastic personality inherited from her mentor. Doting on people would make her feel very awkward, I'd guess.

Why do palace dramas warrant censorship?
Also, they did change the plot for the drama. In the novel CP was the main villain. Maybe they really do plan season 2 and moved him there as the main villain.

I rarely write these, but even with flaws, I found this drama to be quite memorable. So it warrants a review:
https://kisskh.at/profile/10070561/review/542960

The emperor wasn't afraid of CP per se, I doubt he even knows that he plotted something. He was afraid of the powerful factions behind the chancellor and the power vacuum his execution may bring. Thankfully, they all abandoned the villain like rats a sinking ship after he got convicted.

CP looks like he's paving himself a way for the cleaner throne by getting rid of all the corrupt crooks and his father's unnecessary legacy baggage. Not a bad thing for a ruler, but he showed his bad character by ordering innocent people killed.

They def should have cut that super long circus execution of the villain in the last episode and made way for more scenes with the leads at the end. Their reconciliation was just bare bones, I would have preferred a good talk and apologies, instead of "I knew, you knew that I trusted you".

I need that instrumental track with a guitar and flute so bad 😭 Official OST only has songs...

First, it's a big if whether there'll be a season 2, there's no second novel to write a script off of. Likely showrunners just want to squeeze some more money out of it, but getting everything and everyone in place again is kinda doubtful.
Second, do you really think ML and FL not gonna survive another arrogant fk's plot? He just dug his own grave with that order, lol.

Yea, shout out to FL, she heavy lifted this drama. And the character she was playing is very cool.

If there ever is a season 2 I'm sure they'll kick his butt as well.

Yea, but somehow I can't really hate him, because he's so weak and flawed.

Everybody knew it's bs, including the emperor, but it was convenient to use as an excuse for their actions. And they killed whole clans for way lesser affronts back then. So it's funny how FL always got to get away with her trash talking the emperor. He really did have a soft spot for her, I guess.