absurd

Agree 100%. There are some dramas on mdl with way higher ratings, that have way lower production quality and a lot of skipable scenes, while KTTPH has none

He has 3 wives, if you include XJY. Princess He Yuanji is his first wife, Xie Jiayu would be second. Ruisheng is kinda a concubine or something like that, she's not of high status so she can't be the second wife, even though she came earlier than XJY.
How it came to be, the son and what is their relationship is thoughtfully explained in the drama itself pretty early on, just watch

Just a side note, they did a really good job with continuity. If characters change clothes, you actually know why and when they had the time to do it. A lot of the dramas I've seen just make characters play dress up for no reason and without any regard for why and when they would do it, which sometimes takes me out of the story

I was really afraid they will f up the ending with limited number of episodes left. But not only did they manage to pack both lead up and the final fight in the last episodes, they also gave us a very through and conclusive last episode and an actual happy ending, that did not feel like an afterthought. My only beef is with the trailer and end sequence. When you're watching XJY cry over XWY's death, you already know he's fine, because there are several scenes from the trailer that have not happened yet. They actually spoiled the ending, literal last scene! Ugh
As a side note, Lejun and prince Ying story was actually very through, even with limited screen time.

What the... this is THE BEST c-drama I've ever whatched. Sure there are other ones I really like, but this one is actually amazing. The way the story flew, every character and just overall production quality is just really good. The low budget is not noticeable at all, because they spent it very smartly, production team deserves an award for forward thinking and planning. All actors did an amazing job, not a single boring side character. And leads also did an amazing job both together and as separate characters. This is the first time I haven't skipped a single scene in a drama. And with the fast pace and limited number of episodes, they still managed to give us a very through and conclusive ending. Just wow. First time I'll give 10/10, no problem
OST is amazing too. No misses

Wow that was... bad. Considering how popular the leads are, how did it end up looking so cheap and horribly written? CGI looks cheap, some supporting characters can barely act and the editing is so choppy, it stops making sense.
And it started out so good. I agree with previous comment, first like 9 episodes are pretty good and then it's like they gradually run out of budget and good editors. Just repetitive conversations and situations, characters just randomly coming and going, and acting getting progressively bad, like some supporting actors couldn't even be bothered to make any expression other than "stoic face"

He's not learning though, he's just going with the best presented argument at the moment. Doesn't seem to have his own opinion

The funny thing is that Xiao Wuyi talking him out of his decision last episode was what solidified it for me. It was a good thing that he saw reason, but it was so easy to sway him, c'mon.

My main problem with Li Mao isn't that he decided to fight for the throne. It's that he really can't think for himself. His sister, teacher Xie, Xiao Wuyi, even Xie Jiayu can talk him into anything and out of anything. He can't stand his ground at all. Birthright, whatever. But how can XWY consider him a good candidate for the emperor, when dude doesn't have anything he will not back away from at the first sign of a conterargument?

Good thing I'm watching this as it comes out. If I was binge watching, I would get no sleep until it's finished

Because actors said so in the livestream, while promoting. Both HMH and AM were like "don't worry, happy ending is waiting for you".

Are you sure you're paying attention? He wasn't trying to stop her, he was making arguments for her to make Eagle to stop trying to ruin everything

He needs to reform the army and adjacent ministries, they don't have resources, there's a lot of embezzlement and all the people hired for high positions are hired because of the lineage, not actual skill. So he needs 3 years of peace to make the reform work, so that even if he's not there as a commander, it would still be a capable army.
Eagle dude keeps making demands because he doesn't want peace, he wants them to refuse and end the talks

You do realize they don't need to show us how the kid was made in order for them to have a kid? It could just be "3 years later" here you go, happy family

Even though her mother is a princess, she does not really have much influence. And XWY is a grand general who commands the whole army, just broght a big victory and also has a high title, so strictly speaking he has a lot more weight than Xie family. He also asked for this marriage as a reward, so there's that. Being a second wife is not actually a low title, if they offered her to be a concubine then, that would be insulting. The other situations you're talking about might have been concubines. Translations is c-dramas don't always do a god job translating that. Second wife is basically the wife that he married later than the first one. Sure, the first one is above her in seniority, but it does not mean her position in the family is low. A lot of the time it's actually the first wife that gets put aside when the second one comes

How in world what happend in the beginning of episode 30 could be interpreted as Lifey colluding with demon king? The only thing she did was tell Togzhou to stop attacking because he's injured. What kind of shoddy writing is this? This drama started out so good, but now it's like they don't even bother to come up with something believable.

It wasn't unheard of to have multiple wives in ancient China, especially for rich noble men. They just have different titles. The princess is the first wife, XJY is the second one. I kind of missed what Ruisheng is, but considering her situation, probably concubine. You really should just be a little patient, they will explain later how they happened to marry XWY

You have a point. Honestly, XWY will make the best emperor, except for the fact that he does not want to be one and that XJY will not want to live in the palace.
But then, he is very self sacrificing, if there's no other choice, he might do it. And, considering, XJY is already somewhat disappointed with world traveling, she might also change her mind for the sake of staying with him.

Bloodline won't matter, unless they make it a public knowledge. But if they do, I'd say more likely is that some other heir adjacent person will come out of the woodwork, some kid or somethingl like that. But it's also not unlikely that A'Mao will get his head screwed on properly, after some tragic event. I've seen something like that multiple times in c-dramas, except characters like these usually die in the end.
As far as this drama goes, anything is possible. So far, it hasn't always been going for traditional anlgles, so I'm not betting on any specific outcome yet

So judging by what XWY said at the end of the latest episode, he does not want to be the emperor. But Li Mao currently is a horrible candidate for the leader of the nation. He's so easily manipulated, obsessed with the girl that he himself left behind and not in any way impartial.
Which makes this a second drama I've seen recently where the best candidate for the throne, both by birth and by character, does not want anything to do with it. Kinda curious how they are going to deal with it. Will Li Mao get his head in the right place later on?