QAS

I thought he used to fake the cough to make people think he was sickly.

If she remains a man, when she becomes Marquis, the bloodline will die with him. He has to fake a marriage and birth of a son, or adopt a male to inherit the title.

I agree. When he plays the ML, he seems awkward with his FL. He would make a good super villain. In this drama, he has some dubious intent, but he's just one of the crowd.

I look forward to his scenes.

If they had married already, they would have become a boring couple. Instead, the writers use both of them as weapons to take down the evil factions around them.

So Prince Yuan (Gao Wei Guang) was the ML's biological father?

Two characters have hinted about Emperor's complicity in the Crown Prince's poisoning. I think Hua Yong should take a hint. Emperor You Ning wants to remain emperor forever. He is a closet delulu. We might begin to see his megalomania soon.

Gao Wei Guang had a cameo role in episode 16. Prince Yuan was the prince who would be Emperor, and You Ning wanted him dead, so he could become Emperor?

It is called personalized method acting, just like Jeremy Xu. LOL

When Crown Prince becomes Emperor, he could send Cui Jin Bai and Miss Bu Shu Lin to the northwest to govern the province. The people would not know Bu Shu Lin's identity as Imperial Guardian. LOL

I didn't recognize Peter Ho when Duke of Wei showed up. I have not seen him in a few years.

So sad for Bu Shu Lin, trapped for life in the role as the male heir to the Bu estate. The only way to escape, Bu has to fake his death, and disappear, together with Cui Jin Bai, who would also have to give up his life's ambition as a royal courtman. When Crown Prince and Commandery Princess become Emperor and Empress, they could figure out a way to pardon Bu Shu Lin.

Jeremy Xu can look creepy, when he stares blankly, and does not blink.😵‍💫

I loved the scene where she sent the prince's sister-in-law over the cliff, then rescued her, and told her there would not be second time.

I wondered if anyone thought the hairstyle overpowers her head and the eyes overpower her face.

LOL I wondered what Peter Ho's role was. He irritated me in a few dramas. His earliest showbiz credit is 1994. He might be the most senior entertainment celebrity/performer in the cast.

She might have been forced into the marital alliance by her father, her two grandfathers and the emperor. She recognized from the start that Prince was possessive and obsessive.

The pastry box scene was hilarious.

I bingewatched the first thirteen episodes. The princes are the most inadequate applicants for the Emperor job. All the princes are flawed emotionally. Crown Prince is a needy puppy, pleading with Shen Xi He for love in every scene. In fact, the outsider Shen Xi He is the only character with the temperament required for the Emperor job. She is is calculating and ruthless, and beneficent. Emperor You Ning should bypass his sons, and promote her to Royal Crown Princess, with the stipulation to the court that she will be Emperor when he dies.

I feel sorry for Vice Minister Cui Jin Bai. Poor guy was sexually harassed by Bu Shu Lin for many episodes, but now Bu is suddenly avoiding him like the plague. Crown Prince told him that Bu is a woman. Thank God! I would hate for Cui to be oblivious all his life. Perhaps Bu will get jealous if Cui gets a love interest. Bu's father had no sons to pass on his title and wealth, so he reinvented his daughter as the son. He must be another delusioned character.

I am guessing that Shen Zi He's family was not related to his wife's family. The dead wife's spirit just happened to encounter Shen Zi He, who had drowned.

In similar fashion, FL's half-sister was Prince X's lover, who turns around and proposes to Shen Zi He. These families have scandals.