Say_do

Even though the Consort Dowager is easily swayed, you can't really blame her for the talk about concubines. From what I've gathered from drama historicals, it counted as virtuousness for a woman to accommodate concubines, and even pick some for her husband. For someone like CXZ, he has a legacy and lineage to protect as well by having many sons. It is like the prince and the spare(s). So other than the fact that her sister is whispering in her ears, it is something expected.
This is something CXZ also was willing to accept until he decided that he could not let LMT go. Making her his primary and ONLY wife is really something.

I was waiting for it too until they changed things from the hot spring and her getting her memories. We'll have to wait and see what they do with it.

That is very rare indeed.

LMT

They changed too many things and dragged others. In the novel, she got pregnant before the wedding, so they even had to move up the date. I don't think they plan on putting her pregnancy in at all, except maybe mention it at the end or something.

Removing the kids storylines is really a shame. Especially for the emperor and empress because they don't need to show their kid or her pregnant many times. So it won't be a difficult thing to include.

They do not love each other. But they respect each other and have an amicable relationship.

He is the emperor. Having other consorts is not really a choice he can make. That is politics.

I can't remember their names, but Ziyu did take two Shi family girls as his concubines and they both got pregnant lol.
But before they even cam into the palace, the empress had already given birth to the crown prince and then she gave birth to a princess. She had two kids before they gave birth.

Every time I look at the Empress, I wonder when they'll tell us she is pregnant. She should have gotten pregnant for the heir by now. Or by novel timeline, should be almost pregnant with her 2nd child now.
There she already cemented her position by giving birth to the crown prince and she wasn't treated this badly by her family. Although they actually threatened her with bringing other sisters as concubines. And it actually happened.
Here they are taking time to build the relationship between her and Ziyu. I wonder if they will change their ending in terms of affection.

I really don't know how they're going to do it. There is one side story they haven't even touched, but they introduced the characters. And that is the one I'm worried about the most.

The best thing the drama did was to give us He hen and Zhao Quan as a couple. And to remove his infatuation with LMT. I started watching the show before I read the novel, so not seeing this ship as a ship in the novel was sad.

I miss referring to CXZ as JiuJiu. The name was so cute.

Well written shows are even more appreciated because they are not seen very often. I think they are going to rush the ending too. There are characters that have been introduced that they have not properly utilised and they were there for a reason.

Well written shows are even more appreciated because they are not seen very often. I think they are going to rush the ending too. There are characters that have been introduced that they have not properly utilised and they were there for a reason.

They took out the souls of the characters and gave this to us. I know it would be difficult to adapt it as is because the novel tried to show the class difference realistically and how a man then with such position and means would think. So viewers may not have been very comfortable. But they only needed to tweak the story a bit or even going this route, they should not have resorted to making the story basic with all the drama cliches. It makes watching quite heartbreaking.

It feels like they will rush the ending and that will just be sad.

We have the writers to blame for this. There are times when you know that it is out of the character's hands and fully at the door of the writer.

In the novel, CXZ actually plotted his injury. He got the word about the empress dowager trying to get him betrothed to the princess before the edict was written. The empress dowager wanted to have them meet first before being betrothed, so they sent an imperial envoy to summon him back to the capital, while someone else would stay back to negotiate with the barbarian tribes.
CXZ heard that the princess was spoiled, willful and bad-tempered and said ain't no way. That to be forced to marry a woman he could not stand or like was out of the question. He did not want to have to be coaxing her or any of that, so he planned well. Got injured at the arrival of the imperial envoy and added something to make the injury look worse than it really was. So his bones were even showing. He even fooled Zhao Quan lol.
Then Zhao Yuan mistakenly let slip about his injury to Miantang and she found out that CXZ was actually the one that gave her the bone flower medicine, and he sent it all to her when he had that injury. Then she traveled for two weeks to get to him to deliver the medicine because it had a short shelf life. CXZ was so happy because he did not know that him getting injured would cause her to come to him. He unknowingly killed two birds with one stone lol. He said if he had known, he would have gotten injured earlier in war lol.

The turn that the drama took had me spinning because I was confused. I have gone through all the stages of grief and denial from this show and it has sent me back to the novel because I can't.