What an incredible watch! I loved how major characters were fleshed out, each with their own backstories. Even the villainous characters had depth without the story trying to justify or excuse their actions, which I really appreciated. I wish we’d gotten Wei Yan’s story a bit earlier though.
What I really liked was Qi Min’s ending. He dies and doesn’t end up with Yu Qianqian, and she’s finally free of him. I’m so glad their relationship wasn’t romanticized or redeemed.
It made it even funnier that, even in the alternate ending, it seems like they still won’t end up together. The whole thing was just satisfying and amusing xD
However, given how drastically different Qi Min’s character is now, I guess their relationship wouldn’t end up as badly as it did before. Yet again, he’s the crown prince, and I’m not sure Yu Qianqian would’ve been content or happy being essentially confined to the palace.
Because of the prolonged poisoning, Xiahou Dan passes first, surrounded by his loved ones, which is so different…
Haha no way 😆 love when that happens!
Completely agreed! And there are rumors suggesting that the drama might have originally planned to follow the novel’s ending. In the MDL cast list, there’s an actor, Xing Ze, credited as “Emperor” who never actually appears in the drama. Unless he was meant to portray a younger Xiahou Dan, some wonder if he may have been cast as Wanyin and Xiahou Dan’s adult son 👀
I also checked Baidu and Weibo [ https://weibo.com/7799457583/PpbvU3SFy ], and Xing Ze is indeed listed as “Emperor.” In a very short clip on his Weibo, there’s a young girl standing beside him, which makes me wonder if she could be YuDan’s daughter or perhaps their granddaughter. If that’s true… I’m really hoping for extra released episodes or at least some BTS scenes!! 🥲
Because of the prolonged poisoning, Xiahou Dan passes first, surrounded by his loved ones, which is so different to how he first entered the novel 🥺 Wanyin continues to rule as empress regnant, eventually stepping down for their children and travels extensively afterward. She, too, eventually passes.
Then Wang Cuihua finds herself back in the real world, on the subway. She goes home but forgets the password to her door and ends up staying at her parents’ house (unbeknownst to her, Zhang San had been on his way to her place 😝). The next morning, she plans to visit Zhang San’s middle school. But on the way, she spots something outside the taxi window and asks the driver to stop.
It’s a billboard for the TV series, Devil’s Beloved Consort. However, it’s different from the version she saw before transmigrating. For example, Xie Yonger is standing next to Xiao Tiancai instead of Xiahou Bo. Cuihua quickly pulls out her phone to look it up. Long story short, she tracks down the parent company, goes there herself, and finally reunites with Zhang San, who is the company's CEO. They leave together and return to his house ❤️ and have a heartfelt convo.
Zhang San explains that, knowing when Cuihua entered the novel, he had traveled to her house to surprise her and planned to take her straight on a vacation. He waited outside her door all night, long enough for the flowers he brought to wilt 😆 He then tells her what happened after he returned to 2016. Because Cuihua had revealed the major events of the next decade to him, he essentially had a “cheat code” and became very successful. He becomes an actual CEO.
He had thought about approaching Cuihua earlier, in high school or college. He could have pursued her, and they might have already been married by 2026. And he actually did visit her city a few times and watched her from afar. Ultimately, he decided not to interfere, since he didn’t know how it would affect the future—whether she would still enter the novel and make the connections she did—and because they had never discussed it, he didn’t want to make that decision for her.
Every year, Zhang San would reread The Devil’s Beloved Consort, until it eventually faded into obscurity. Then it struck him, how did Cuihua get an ad for it if it had already faded? He had someone inquire on his behalf, but they misunderstood, thinking he wanted to buy the production rights, and proposed to adapt it into a TV series. That’s when Zhang San realizes—he was the one who brought Cuihua into the novel 🥹
They share a quiet moment, and Cuihua begins to tell her story, what happened after Xiahou Dan passed in the novel 🌱
Because of the prolonged poisoning, Xiahou Dan passes first, surrounded by his loved ones, which is so different to how he first entered the novel :') Wanyin continues to rule as empress regnant, eventually stepping down for their children and travels extensively afterward. She, too, eventually passes.
Then Wang Cuihua finds herself back in the real world, on the subway. She goes home but forgets the password to her door and ends up staying at her parents’ house (unbeknownst to her, Zhang San had been on his way to her place). The next morning, she plans to visit Zhang San’s middle school. But on the way, she spots something outside the taxi window and asks the driver to stop.
It’s a billboard for the TV series, Devil’s Beloved Consort. However, it’s different from the version she saw before transmigrating. For example, Xie Yonger is standing next to Xiao Tiancai instead of Xiahou Bo. Cuihua quickly pulls out her phone to look it up. Long story short, she tracks down the parent company, goes there herself, and finally reunites with Zhang San. They leave together, return to his house and have a heartfelt conversation.
Yes! In the novel, they each return to the real world at the exact moment they originally transmigrated. Xiahou…
Yes, they do! The endings are a little different, but in both the novel and the drama, Wang Cuihua and Zhang San recognize each other. No amnesia or memory wipes, thankfully 🥳
I am really curious. How are they going to reconcile the fact that the emperor was a child when he transmigrated.…
Yes! In the novel, they each return to the real world at the exact moment they originally transmigrated. Xiahou Dan/Zhang San goes back first and finds himself in 2016. Then Yu Wanyin/Wang Cuihua returns later and finds herself in 2026—so ten years have already passed since he came back! Which works out perfectly because it makes them roughly the same age ☺️
Was that A Bai as military general?? Why's he there? I thought he returned to that mountain where nameless immortal…
Yes! I’m excited to see how it plays out! Without giving spoilers, they’ve kind of hinted at A Bai’s identity already, namely when Xiahou Dan sent him to assist Tu Er.
RIP 3 Wanyin guards. Nice to know they were buried on the same night our ml and fl had fun.
Oh noes I really hope that’s not true T.T Hopefully, they clarify it soon. In the novel and the donghua, they weren’t killed. After Wanyin is confined to her palace, Bei Zhou visits her and tells her that Cen Jintian and the others were relocated and are safe. He also shares how Xiahou Dan reacted when her fate was still uncertain. Later, Xiahou Dan visits her himself, more or less apologizes, and reassures her that the shadow guards weren’t killed and that the others are safe.
watching ep 23 wanyin why are you so stubborn? she shouldn't have gone out she risked her safety and the safety…
Agreed, I find that annoying as well. However, I really wish the drama had followed the novel more closely here (like the donghua did), because I believe that both Wanyin and Xiahou Dan had valid reasons for their actions and concerns.
In the novel, Wang Zhao’s funeral and visiting Cen Jintian were separate events. Xiahou Dan couldn’t attend the funeral because he was dealing with the Empress Dowager’s faction and was still recovering from the poisoning, but he knew about it and let Wanyin go. She returned to the palace afterwards, told him about Jintian’s condition, and that’s when he said she shouldn’t leave the palace anytime soon. I don’t think either of them was completely right or wrong—they were just prioritizing different things. But the drama making Xiahou Dan unwilling to let Wanyin attend the funeral (which didn’t happen in the novel) makes him seem more unreasonable than he actually was. And since they didn’t explain Wanyin’s reasons for insisting on going with Xiao Tiancai to see Jintian, the scene loses important context as well. But I get that they probably merged the two events because of time constraints.
Saw the preview for the upcoming episode and I’m already stressed 😫
Where did you watch it? I’ve only seen the previews for episodes 23 and 24, and I didn’t see that scene, for the drama at least. Without giving spoilers, I’ve been looking forward to it ever since I read it in the novel
No, it was a really popular novel which got purchased by multiple companies to produce IPs like a donghua, manhua,…
There is! It just hasn’t been officially licensed in English at least, but there are fan translations. If you search “What a Disgrace manhua,” it should pop up
Really love this but some detail are a bit confusing for me (or I missed them). All three are transmigrator except…
That’s a valid concern. Thankfully, the novel resolves it. In the end, when they return to the real world, they go back to the exact moment before they transmigrated. Zhang San transmigrated in 2016 while he’s still in middle school, whereas Wang Cuihua transmigrated in 2026 as an adult. So when she returns, ten years have already passed since he came back, meaning they end up around the same age
What I really liked was Qi Min’s ending. He dies and doesn’t end up with Yu Qianqian, and she’s finally free of him. I’m so glad their relationship wasn’t romanticized or redeemed.
It made it even funnier that, even in the alternate ending, it seems like they still won’t end up together. The whole thing was just satisfying and amusing xD
However, given how drastically different Qi Min’s character is now, I guess their relationship wouldn’t end up as badly as it did before. Yet again, he’s the crown prince, and I’m not sure Yu Qianqian would’ve been content or happy being essentially confined to the palace.
Completely agreed! And there are rumors suggesting that the drama might have originally planned to follow the novel’s ending. In the MDL cast list, there’s an actor, Xing Ze, credited as “Emperor” who never actually appears in the drama. Unless he was meant to portray a younger Xiahou Dan, some wonder if he may have been cast as Wanyin and Xiahou Dan’s adult son 👀
I also checked Baidu and Weibo [ https://weibo.com/7799457583/PpbvU3SFy ], and Xing Ze is indeed listed as “Emperor.” In a very short clip on his Weibo, there’s a young girl standing beside him, which makes me wonder if she could be YuDan’s daughter or perhaps their granddaughter. If that’s true… I’m really hoping for extra released episodes or at least some BTS scenes!! 🥲
Then Wang Cuihua finds herself back in the real world, on the subway. She goes home but forgets the password to her door and ends up staying at her parents’ house (unbeknownst to her, Zhang San had been on his way to her place 😝). The next morning, she plans to visit Zhang San’s middle school. But on the way, she spots something outside the taxi window and asks the driver to stop.
It’s a billboard for the TV series, Devil’s Beloved Consort. However, it’s different from the version she saw before transmigrating. For example, Xie Yonger is standing next to Xiao Tiancai instead of Xiahou Bo. Cuihua quickly pulls out her phone to look it up. Long story short, she tracks down the parent company, goes there herself, and finally reunites with Zhang San, who is the company's CEO. They leave together and return to his house ❤️ and have a heartfelt convo.
Zhang San explains that, knowing when Cuihua entered the novel, he had traveled to her house to surprise her and planned to take her straight on a vacation. He waited outside her door all night, long enough for the flowers he brought to wilt 😆 He then tells her what happened after he returned to 2016. Because Cuihua had revealed the major events of the next decade to him, he essentially had a “cheat code” and became very successful. He becomes an actual CEO.
He had thought about approaching Cuihua earlier, in high school or college. He could have pursued her, and they might have already been married by 2026. And he actually did visit her city a few times and watched her from afar. Ultimately, he decided not to interfere, since he didn’t know how it would affect the future—whether she would still enter the novel and make the connections she did—and because they had never discussed it, he didn’t want to make that decision for her.
Every year, Zhang San would reread The Devil’s Beloved Consort, until it eventually faded into obscurity. Then it struck him, how did Cuihua get an ad for it if it had already faded? He had someone inquire on his behalf, but they misunderstood, thinking he wanted to buy the production rights, and proposed to adapt it into a TV series. That’s when Zhang San realizes—he was the one who brought Cuihua into the novel 🥹
They share a quiet moment, and Cuihua begins to tell her story, what happened after Xiahou Dan passed in the novel 🌱
Then Wang Cuihua finds herself back in the real world, on the subway. She goes home but forgets the password to her door and ends up staying at her parents’ house (unbeknownst to her, Zhang San had been on his way to her place). The next morning, she plans to visit Zhang San’s middle school. But on the way, she spots something outside the taxi window and asks the driver to stop.
It’s a billboard for the TV series, Devil’s Beloved Consort. However, it’s different from the version she saw before transmigrating. For example, Xie Yonger is standing next to Xiao Tiancai instead of Xiahou Bo. Cuihua quickly pulls out her phone to look it up. Long story short, she tracks down the parent company, goes there herself, and finally reunites with Zhang San. They leave together, return to his house and have a heartfelt conversation.
As a novel reader, I’m really satisfied with this adaptation! And hoping this means we’ll get lots more fanfic out of it hehe
In the novel, Wang Zhao’s funeral and visiting Cen Jintian were separate events. Xiahou Dan couldn’t attend the funeral because he was dealing with the Empress Dowager’s faction and was still recovering from the poisoning, but he knew about it and let Wanyin go. She returned to the palace afterwards, told him about Jintian’s condition, and that’s when he said she shouldn’t leave the palace anytime soon. I don’t think either of them was completely right or wrong—they were just prioritizing different things. But the drama making Xiahou Dan unwilling to let Wanyin attend the funeral (which didn’t happen in the novel) makes him seem more unreasonable than he actually was. And since they didn’t explain Wanyin’s reasons for insisting on going with Xiao Tiancai to see Jintian, the scene loses important context as well. But I get that they probably merged the two events because of time constraints.