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Yeh agree, I think it's pretty well done overall. Not rushed, they took their time and it's all pretty logical.

Yeh it's a pity, but can't have everything, they still ended everyone's stories really well I reckon. Let me know what you think after you watch eps 35/36. The ML and FL also learn the full with in episode 37, its explained quite well to be honest.

No, just realized he was being used and manipulated by him, but not that he was an imposter.

Yeh honestly CP was forced into it by his mother the empress. One thing I'm a little disappointed is he never found out his father was an imposter, where as in the novel he did. A bit sad he died not knowing and not understanding why his mother wanted him to become the emperor. But yeh CP and prince Cheng downfall and death at the end of episode 35/start of 36 before the emperor.

He dies, he gets killed by Prince Cheng. The ML and emperor pretty much use that as an excuse to bring down prince Cheng before his death. Prince Cheng's downfall is so satisfying because he thought the emperor favored him and he was going to become CP by killing the former CP, only to realize the emperor used him and threw him away.

Episode 36 it happens and trust me, super satisfying

Honestly, all the deaths were pretty satisfying. Ngl I fast forwarded just to see Prince Cheng meet his end.

Both him and prince Cheng's death were very satisfying

Yeh 100% he also has the ML and Fl to guide him, pretty much surrounded by good people who will teach him well.

Yeh they never clarified it but he's the emperor or fake emperor's son with Consort Jin. But since they can't or at least don't announce to the world the emperor was fake, their only choice is to appoint prince Sui who is technically the next in line as all other princes are dead. So in the end I guess the fake emperor got what he wanted sort of, his blood will be on the throne.

They don't revel the emperor is fake to the public or other minters etc, it's kept a secret except for a few like ML, FL, Yan Li, Yue Ning and empress dowager. All the other princes are dead, so technically he's next in line. They use an edict by the now dead fake emperor appointing little prince as future emperor.

I believe besides Yan Li obviously, only Yan Sui, the youngest prince

Such, such, such a satisfying death for Prince Cheng, ML got his revenge

I want to recommend Coroner's Diary. Coroner's Diary in my opinion is the perfect blend of mystery, crime and romance. The mystery/murder case are entertaining and thrilling. To seasoned cdrama viewers some of the cases may be predictable, but they are still engaging and interesting to watch. The main big case and big villain keep you guessing till the end. The drama does a good job of dropping hints of the eventual massive plot twist and keeps you guessing who is the true villain and who's e side everyone is on.
But the main event of this drama is the main romance. The relationship between the ML and FL is as close to a perfect cdrama relationship as possible. All cliches are avoided which I love. No misunderstandings, no break ups, no noble idiocy, no keeping each other guessing or waiting, nothing like that. The FL is smart, and independent. The ML is supporting and trusting. They communicate openly about what they both want and their goals and future together. They get together relatively early, no messing around. And once they are together, they are so supportive and trusting of each other. They communicate so well, with absolutely no misunderstands or break ups. Not even a single argument. Once they're official, they are fully committed to each other and nothing gets in their way, supporting each other till the end. Both of them are walking green flags, and a damn near prefect cdrama romance. They work together in perfect harmony as they investigate murder cases, while also going on secret dates and secretly flirting with each other. The 2nd and 3rd CP's are more generic, but still also cute with no break ups or misunderstandings. Honestly, the romance between all 3 cp's provides a nice warm and cute contrast to the mystery and murder cases. Overall, this drama is a really, really well made mystery, crime and romance historical cdrama. A true dark horse of 2025. And the main CP is exactly who this list was created for.
Edit: I didn't see SAI's recommendation of it below, but I'll just leave mine here as support for SAI's rec and for someone interested in a quick idea of how the main cp is.

In the novel it's worth noting she does become empress after he becomes emperor.

Haha no problem

Hahaha ikr so unexpected the type of twist where it makes you want to rewatch the show to pick up little clues

Haha yeh no honestly if I hadn't read the novel the hints would mean nothing to me but when its revealed it like all makes sense and comes together. He's definitely become so sus lately.

They have dropped clues in the drama about this but never fully said it. But in the novel, the emperor is an imposter, from the flashbacks in episode 21 of the rebellion, Yan Han (Yan Li's father) took the place of the emperor and become an imposter emperor, pretending to be the emperor. In the drama, in today's episode it was mentioned how his Go skills use to be good but are now bad. In a previous episode when Yan Chi gave a speech to the prince envoy that visited and tried to kill his brother, about how he can never steal the throne, the emperor looked upset. And yesterday when grand aunt and empress dowager spoke and grand aunt mentioned twins, the empress dowager looked suspicious. So yeh there are clues but no confirmation in the drama. But in the novel he's an imposter, he killed Consort Jin and killed Fl's family because they found out the truth.

hahah yeh probably will after this or soonish, so many cdramas and kdramas I wanna rewatch but new ones that are so good keep coming up like coroner's diary I have no time haha