Ang

Agreed, the last episode since was borderline SA imo. I’m really hoping we get neither a forced marriage nor a Stockholm syndrome situation. The drama will definitely be different from the novel, so I’m curious to see how their eventual relationship plays out.

So far, Pingjun seems to be resisting Changxuan’s advances and harassment, but I wish she had better strategic judgment and situational awareness, if that makes sense. Going directly to Changxuan to confront and accuse him of messing with Xueting is not the best approach. Unfortunately, she’s dealing with a possessive, unhinged man who seems to enjoy provoking her, and through no fault of her own, she is inadvertently antagonizing him in ways that could put her at greater risk. In general, I wish she would exercise more “restraint” when necessary, without compromising her principles.

I’m enjoying Changxuan as a character so far, but not as a love interest yet. Fully team Pingjun xD Rooting for her happiness!

I'm so looking forward to seeing both Zhang Yunlong and Zhang Tianyang on-screen!! Loved Zhang Yunlong as Wangquan Hongye in Love in Pavilion and Zhang Tianyang as Hei Fengxi's caring older brother, Feng Chang in Who Rules the World! Yu Shuxin looks really pretty and fierce in this! Also excited to see Cheng Hongxin again!

thank you for engaging! ^^

My fear was that we would get a rushed, gratuitous romance and reconciliation, and unfortunately, I think that’s somewhat what we got. Mostly because their reconciliation essentially happened off-screen, which was disappointing imo, especially after how much time the drama spent establishing everything that happened between them and Jialan’s struggle to have a say in her own life. I’m glad that it at least seems to have taken a few years before they actually consummated their marriage, but I still find myself wondering: what exactly happened during those years?

And not just with their marriage. When did the rest of the Lin family start respecting Jialan and even her mother? When did Lu Xie seemingly change his attitude towards Jinqi? When did Jinqi resign, and what exactly led to his resignation? How did the emperor respond? Did Jialan actually go back to Jinling first?

I have so many questions, and I wish we had actually gotten to see more of these developments rather than having them largely happen off-screen. It was poetically and beautifully done, but I wish the drama had been more explicit about what actually happened.

Other than that, I was deeply saddened when Jinlan passed away, but I’m glad he has a son, especially for his wife’s sake. Given the society they live in, having a son gives her much more security and standing within the family. I’m glad Han Liang’s sister seems to be doing well, and I hope he is doing well himself. I also loved seeing the woman who helps mark the passing of time again, along with her son. It was also great seeing Jiugao and Nanke as court officials though!

(spoilers for episode 39)

Xiuru has had three daughters with the marquis. The "issue" is that they have no sons. That's why in the preview, his mother is urging him to take a concubine.

Just watched the trailer! I think I hear Xu Zhengxi’s voice 🥹 I hope he dubbed himself!!

What a versatile actor! First saw her in Blossom and then How Dare You?! Enjoying her performance in The Road to Splendor~

How refreshing to have a happy ending/resolution that lasted for than just a few minutes :’) hoping this becomes the norm from now on~

Loved the manhua and later the donghua! Haven’t finished The Trust yet, but wanted to start this! I’m excited to see their story play out again ^^

I really hope that puppy is okay 🥺

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.

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!! 🥲

There are quite a few English translations out there, but I prefer this one because many of the others cut off part of a passage in Chapter 17: https://webnovel.leonparenzo.com/story/how-dare-you-this-is-ridiculous/

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 🌱

Novel's ending in case anyone's interested~

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.

I still would’ve preferred the novel ending, tbh :’) But I’m content with what we got (: happy watching~

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 🥳

How rare—a happy ending that lasted more than a few minutes T.T And haha I’m just really glad Eunuch An survives XD

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