Ti02

While this can be, because emperor was always scheduled to be a tyrant! But I doubt that, ML and FL have not been following the script at all, they do have this power! FL said, everyone can take their own decisions, and via their choices can change their faith!
ML is a kid in the scene, he just wanted her not to say anything about his secret. It seemed to be a mistake!

Ep 17 and 18 set up the perfect pre Mid-climax base! I really like the palace politics here, of the three different factions, while reading I was confused most of the time, but the drama did it well!
I love the leads, they have the perfect chemistry, perfect clothes and aesthetics! Babies so in love, I will never stop raving about them!
Now it has really been a regular thing these days to feel bad about young Dan! Poor baby!

Concubine Shu said, it was the first time ML entered the palace. So he was curious and wanted to take a look, hence went near it! Even ML said the same to FL. But he told there was no one else! But his father was there, and he was even saving her, which FL remembered on her own!

He never wanted to, but he couldn't deny Imperial decree! So he had to continue. But later, like by ep 9, he had adapted to it, basically I think he started liking her!
His father told him to maintain distance to her, while all of them do debate if she remembers the tragic night 15 years back or just pretending to! ML might also be with her, in order to get answers to that, if she truly remembers or not! But this was not explicitly said! In fact after the first case when he started getting concerned with her, he is even guilty, so maybe everything changed when he developed a bond with her!

Because the present crown prince is ML's biological son. Hence to explain that to the same actor played the two roles.

He is! And I am not supporting him or anything! But he is also brainwashed. His mother was a maid, who used to care for ML's birth mother. But the maid/concubine said something to ML birth mom, and hence was slapped to death! Now its not very evident if ML birth mom did it, but from Duan perspective, she is responsible! Plus even he is punished by his step mother, without any mistake of his! They were all children, they really did not had a lot of means to understand what's right! Palace politics did ruin all of them! But in today's episode, Duan changing pastries was the first vile thing he actually did against ML.
But now he could have changed, like at least using the girl who likes you, killing your own baby, happy a relationship with brother's concubine, are really pathetic!

Yes Duan!

Nothing, they only showed light hearted moments in the previews of ep 17-18, but by 18's emoji things do escalate!
In today's episode, yes Empress Dowager does things, but FL is too clever so nothing happens! Its all merry!

He is 30? She is 24? They don't seem to be like that! Like WXY is too young so he wouldn't look a lot elder to Bailu, but in the childhood flashback scenes, he look 2-3 years max elder to her! Did they mention the ages? My goodness if they did that, they completely did opposite of their real lives, WXY being 6 years younger to Bailu!
That's a different thing though, I like both their contrasting characters yet have similarities!

Thanks. I thought because they are highlighting on Shanyi a lot so.

Thanks! This is possible.

Sounds fun I will check that out. Thank you for the suggestion!

Right! Lol

The novel from which this is adapted has a happy ending!

Li Pei yi is so in love! She is not even denying it at this point, she is so open asking if Huaijin came to ask about her, in front of Wu ren!

No not to us, for sure its fictional for us! But like in ADWAD, if you have seen! There the leads meet in the real life, hug, happy ending! Then they close it and show that even the real life was a novel! Like the entire thing was being written in a laptop by an author. Last month, even another drama My Page within a page, did the same! So ig makers made a way against china's censorship for a happy ending! So maybe the world ML and FL lives here, is not real as well!

ML really didn't care about this at all! There were many options after him! This was just a vile decision of Empress Dowager!

Okay maybe, because today Empress Dowager's servant told her maybe Emperor is not able to perform in the bedroom after this traumatic past with the assassin beauty of the Yan state! So I thought! Plus ML for few seconds had a flashback during the dance performance in the banquet, and he was a little uncomfortable!
So yeah, lets see!

I don't remember this point in the novel at all, maybe I did read it superficially!
But I think Yan's empire's prince's sweetheart Shanyi or whatever she is called, that A Bai and ML mentioned in the cold palace, who came as a part of envoy in this empire, as a dancer, attempted assassination of the emperor, and later was killed! They also said the two empires fought over this over many years. I earlier thought it was the previous emperor, ML's father.
But now I think Shanyi was the dancer who was forced by Empress Dowager to sleep with ML and having the crown prince. Reasons for this, ML did had a small 2 seconds flashback while seeing a new dancer in today's banquet, and he was visually uncomfortable! Envoy of Yan heard some people speaking about Shanyi being a great dancer, he was was displeased. Empress Dowager and her servant spoke about how ML might not perform in the bedroom anymore after his traumatic past with the assassin beauty of Yan state.
Just a guess, fellow novel readers or others with theories, may feel free to shed light on this!

Adoption of a heir isn't allowed! They have to be own blood. But yeah in the starting, anyone would disbelieve such a tragedy. Poor Dan, I cried while reading the novel, I am now crying seeing the drama!