GTY's stepmother forced in a concubine after their marriage which Ming Lan accepted as well. ML always complied with the social the norms even if she personally does not prefer them. That's a bit different from FL's who act recklessly just to get saved in by the ML.
Good point with censorships. Although a lot of this comes down to younger audiences who can perceive these historical plots from modern perspective and they expect everyone to be green-green. Even this show currently, ML being labelled red flag in earlier episodes is ignorant of the plot and setting. Maybe people watch for sake of actors rather than the plot. I've yet to watch a drama of even closer quality to that of story of ming lan or NiF.
He Suye is a better person than I’m am! I would’ve hated it if my partner forced me to make amends with my…
You cannot escape your parents in Asian culture. She never forced. All she just suggested if they could have dinner together for which HSY agreed. His father is not even part of his daily life like his grandpa. You can just never abandon some relations. This is more realistic in context of the setting.
Do you have rec for more stern ML who does not change?