Ti02

In the novel, Duan did not take this step! If I remember correctly, he had spread the rumour that FL was pregnant, and it was for sure ML's child, not his! People would take this up, because ML announced her as an empress all of a sudden, crown prince was in house arrest all of a sudden. Duan planned defeating and killing ML. Then he would impregnate FL, but people would think its Dan's child as the rumour of her being pregnant was there even before Dan got defeated! So Dan's own child would be the legitimate emperor for everyone, because he is the previous king and emperor's son, while Duan would be the regent, but no one would know its Duan's own child!
This was the initial plan, but ML would send FL away, something I am guessing drama would be doing too! Duan wanted to search for FL, but when he did not find her, he planned to use crown prince instead!
But the drama changed it a little! For now, ML would be defeated which would follow the novel as well! But don't worry FL and ML would be able to defeat Duan maybe by 29-30! Their counter attack will work!
About Yonger, its tragic!

Not only that, the overall tone of the drama is comedy! It was marketed branded like that! So despite of its seriousness, the comedy is present! Also in midst of all seriousness those light hearted moments become so valuable! They have balanced the comedy well!

They have not officially announced the date for Express Release! But I am guessing the same as you said!

In most of the Chinese Dramas, last 4-6 episodes, depending on what's left is released together at the same moment, who pay extra for it! The schedule I mentioned is for people who have iQiyi subscription. But if they want to watch all the episodes together, without waiting for 3 days, they can just pay extra, and watch it! This is called Express!
Though the date has not been officially announced for express, it should be either Wednesday or Thursday!

Yeah, its drops around 3:30 pm for me, but today I woke up, had breakfast and a new episode was there!
I am not sure but this can also be due to Chinese New Year Eve being today. Unveil Jadewind is not even releasing its episodes today. So I guess that might play a role as well.

I did not catch that in the episode as I am not Chinese, but yes fair point!

Today's one episode has been released. Tomorrow we have 2 episodes. Day after tomorrow 1 episode again. There is a 3 day gap then after which 1 episode each day. Its expected that they will release express during the 3 days gap.

According to schedule 25 was always supposed to drop today! episode 25 on 16th, episode 26 and 27 on 17th, and episode 28 on 18th! Express has not been yet announced!
Its just that the airing time is different! Just like first 6 episodes were released earlier, today's episode was also released earlier, usually its 6 pm China Standard Time!
I get it maybe for some people 3 episodes are released on the same day! But not in China, its a different day, they have just released it earlier by few hours!

He also tries a second time to assassinate FL later in the novel, again he was manipulated by Duan's men! But its not sane enough that they would keep giving him chances! So maybe after that they dispose him! Lets see in the drama if they show that or not!
Honestly its really sad!

This! I think they should not do this everytime! Like once in a while, its okay! But they have made it so common, that whenever they take on a lead, find someone and FL tells a guard to keep a check on him/her, the witness always dies!

The pacing is just perfect! This should end well without any time constraints, as per the novel!
I really love how they set up a base for a big incident! Like be it the Mount Bei incident or now anything that happens, they show plannings, ideas, execution properly without making it boring for an episode, by all the parties involved!

The scene in the court in today's episode is so good while they are discussing funeral date! Cheng Lei is pretending to be an ill emperor, while pretending not be ill in front of court officials! Like the discomfort was visible in his eyes, and face, but he was still trying to mask it, and acting normal so that others don't know!
Cheng Lei, the actor you are!!!!

She is not that prominent! Like she didn't have a role as such. That was what we see of her!

It was a slave/concubine/a woman hired by step mother, she was shown in ep 19!

No its a split personality! Just read about it, he can control it? No he cannot! Its a disease! Its a mental health problem! Its like saying if someone is puking, oh why he cannot control himself, diseases/health problems are beyond human control!
Poor ML has been controlling that. He never let her see him like that, he only came in front of her as Zhang San. Its now when he became more ill, things went out of control!
So that FL doesn't have to put up with it, he tries to stay away from her, he refused to see her, there will be other occasions too, he tries to send her away, stay away from her, so that she didn't have to see him like that! But FL loves him, she didn't want to leave him just because he was ill.

No the show did not potray FL being wrong to visit. They clearly explained her conscience behind it. But just because she had a good cause doesn't mean that the consequence later will be good as well. ML did whatever he did because of his illness when he got sane enough, he apologized because he knew his old self was at fault. FL apologized for not listening to him because she could have died. Both of them were right from their perceptions. I think the drama showed how a healthy couple should react, in such a situation (minus ML's illness) Its just disagreement of perception doesn't make either of them right or wrong.

Both have sad backstories. But ML is ill? He develops split personality. SML is completely okay. ML has been poisoned more than once he has terrible headaches.
Till he gets cured for this, to compare a person with mental health problems to a person who doesn't have it, is just vague.

In the novel, he put crown prince in house arrest! I mean the offense was of capital punishment! But maybe because Crown Prince was a kid, his own kid, maybe that's why they didn't show him dying! Dan issued an order that crown prince will be put into house arrest! Now if it is forever, or later he will allow him, nothing was said!
So maybe it can be said they forever remained on bad terms! Poor boy, he was manipulated his whole life, he has no mother, no relation with father, he probably thought his evil grandma loved him, hence he revolted for her! He probably also heard his father saying to his grandma that he would be sent to live in the mausoleum with her, while his heir would be his and FL's child!
Like maybe Dan always saw him as his trauma, he could never move pass that. Not blaming him for sure, but no one did truly care for the child as well just like what Dan faced in his childhood, he will have the same fate!

Yes we saw a lot of them not having kids! Honestly this was very usual those days. In most dramas, they don't show such a big harem! Its usually 2 or 3 main concubines and their children.
But previously it was quiet usual for Emperors to have hundreds of concubines, maybe he had spent 1 or 2 days with them, but they were caged for life! Only with some prominent concubines did the emperor have kids, or some concubines who gave him children, rose to prominence and held power.

When FL and ML transmigrated back to the real world. FL saw Yonger, she was an actress who was playing the role of Yonger in the drama adaptation of the novel! Even Duan was there, he played Duan as well! Like they were actors! This was in the novel, in a conclusion paragraph!
But honestly, I don't think the drama can show all of this, its just 32, if it was 34 or 36, then maybe! I will be just happy with reunite scene of the leads, all the other stuff I will just guess and imagine!