this is your interpretation. I have a different one.
I'm concerned that this might be too much of a spoiler. The problem is that the screenwriter altered the story so many times the main arc, and some important details are not explained well to justify certain choices. As a result, it feels abrupt in the drama, whereas in the novel, it was presented in a more chronological manner and better understood.
Can anyone spoil what happens to all main characters of the drama as per novel.?
All the goodies stay alive, all the baddies will die
ChengPP died, the emperor died, the eldest princess died. the second prince died. the crown prince died. the empress died. the empress dowager died. few general died. few officials died. a mega purge of the baddies. Cheng PingPing was killed by the emperor.
The first prince did not die; the third prince became the emperor. FX assumed leadership of the Donghi sect, while the first prince aided in maintaining Donghy's independence from the northern and southern kingdoms.
FX went to the divine temple and discovered many secrets. Because of that, peace was established and nobody dared to go at war anymore.
The epilogue is a happy one. FX and his family, including wan’er, DaBao, WuZhu, sister, brother, sisi his concubine (character removed), fan dad, grandma, saint duoduo, niang best friend, an eunuch, shi disciple/aide, and entourage lived a happy simple life in the country far from intrigues. He had 2 kids (in fact 3) and was at peace.
746 chapters and not even at mid novel yet at S2 ep 25
yes I read the novel. it has 746 chapters. if you go to the discussion, someone shared the pdf. I truly encourage everyone to read it. :) and no excuses are needed. we are all fans. :)
Someone mentioned to me that the real, big bad in JOL is the Emperor. And I get that everyone is always scrambling…
It is difficult to answer because the screenwriter does not follow the same story arcs as the novel. However, if he does, here goes.
- The worst villain is the eldest princess: she manipulates everyone, has no values, no - s, no moral - The biggest manipulators and scheming people: The emperor and ChengPP - right after are Prime Minister (father-in-law) and Fan Jian (father) - the crown prince and the second prince are puppets
but in the drama, the eldest princess does not have the spotlight she deserves as a villain. My take is that because of who she is, they did not want to take any chance with censorship.
The emperor is incapable of loving fully, but Fan Xian is his favorite son. He tested him over and over again for his loyalty. Fan Xian knew the emperor's personality very well and made sure to never fail his tests. Fan Xian is also a manipulator and a scheming person.
Third Prince looking even less like Emperor material in ep 29 - either FX is going to have to be miracle worker…
IRL he is 26. in the novel he was supposed to be 9 but act like a young teenager (aka first prince and FX at the gate)... S2 is all about twisted ARC, so I would not be surprised if they change the story again. I am curious what it will be :)
1 
it is all related to the divine temple :)
ChengPP died, the emperor died, the eldest princess died. the second prince died. the crown prince died. the empress died. the empress dowager died. few general died. few officials died. a mega purge of the baddies. Cheng PingPing was killed by the emperor.
The first prince did not die; the third prince became the emperor. FX assumed leadership of the Donghi sect, while the first prince aided in maintaining Donghy's independence from the northern and southern kingdoms.
FX went to the divine temple and discovered many secrets. Because of that, peace was established and nobody dared to go at war anymore.
The epilogue is a happy one. FX and his family, including wan’er, DaBao, WuZhu, sister, brother, sisi his concubine (character removed), fan dad, grandma, saint duoduo, niang best friend, an eunuch, shi disciple/aide, and entourage lived a happy simple life in the country far from intrigues. He had 2 kids (in fact 3) and was at peace.
and no excuses are needed. we are all fans. :)
- The worst villain is the eldest princess: she manipulates everyone, has no values, no - s, no moral
- The biggest manipulators and scheming people: The emperor and ChengPP
- right after are Prime Minister (father-in-law) and Fan Jian (father)
- the crown prince and the second prince are puppets
but in the drama, the eldest princess does not have the spotlight she deserves as a villain. My take is that because of who she is, they did not want to take any chance with censorship.
The emperor is incapable of loving fully, but Fan Xian is his favorite son. He tested him over and over again for his loyalty. Fan Xian knew the emperor's personality very well and made sure to never fail his tests. Fan Xian is also a manipulator and a scheming person.