Novel's Tidbits & Discussion

Qin ZhenZhen and LiChuan's story

(I will add Qin ZhenZhen, Pei WenXuan & LiRong back story here)

• Qin ZhenZhen is the daughter of Qin family. Her father and Pei Wexuan’s father are friends. That’s why PWX and QZZ are betrothed at an early age. They have known each other since young and despite love or not PWX and QZZ’s relationship are good.
• After PWX’s father passed away, it was his second uncle who took over Pei family
• PWX and his uncle are not in a good relationship, then PWX and QZZ’s engagement breaks off. At that time PWX's status was still low/ poor.

Previous life :

• LR married PWX. She chose PWX despite his low status because she knew that her Emperor Father would not let her marry to gain stronger power. Her Sangguan family background from her Empress Mother is already too dashing. So, PWX was a safe choice plus PWX is very handsome.
• After marriage, LR and PWX's relationship was not that good. It is because they do not communicate well. Although they respect and like each other, everything between them is miscommunication and misunderstanding.
• Also because of political arrangements, LiChuan as Crown Prince married 5 wives – 1 Crown Princess from the Shangguan family (Shang Guan Ya) and 4 concubines. QZZ is one of the concubines.
• Shangguan family was the strongest aristocratic family since 3 generation Empress was from the Shangguan family (including LR & LiChuan’s Mother). However, LiChuan never loves SGY and only loves QZZ.
• This really brings disaster. All eyes were on QZZ and everyone was jealous of QZZ.
• QZZ often gets in trouble in the palace and PWX always helps her.
• Actually, PWX towards QZZ was more responsibility than love. It is just because they have known each other since young so PWX helps her.
• LR knew this and thought PWX still had feelings for QZZ. To this misunderstanding, when LR asks him, PWX doesn’t know how to explain and doesn’t bother to correct it.
• From this, LR and PWX's relationship becomes colder. LR feels lonely and lets Su RongQing stay at Princess Residence as one of her attendants. LR often drinks and watches dance & song. 
• PWX often sees LR & SRQ together, so he thinks that LR does not love him but SRQ because after all PWX comes from a lower family status than SRQ’s Su family (the Su family is one of the aristocratic family).
• PWX & LR's relationship was just like that cold for 30 years. Even though they consume their marriage, LR cannot get pregnant because of her health and stress. FYI, a little jump to their rebirth: although both of them are in a good relationship and want children, LR still thinks that she can’t give PWX a child, like in her previous life. PWX doesn’t mind it as long as they are together. So, when LR got pregnant, it was really the happiest news for them.
• Back to QZZ, after LiChuan ascended the throne and after she gave birth, because of political interest she got killed inside the palace.

This lifetime :

• LiChuan refuses the political marriage arrangement.
• LR worked together with SGY and opposed it too. So the story about LiChuan having to marry 5 wives doesn’t happen in this lifetime. Even LiChuan does not recognize QZZ until the last part of the novel.
• Something bad still happened to the Qin family and Qin family was slaughtered.
• QZZ manages to escape and LR promises to help her to seek justice for Qin family.
• QZZ is a woman who has high martial arts.
• In short, QZZ agrees to LR that she will pretend to die and change her name, and after Qin family matter is finished she will go to the north to raise the army there.
• LR gave her a new name: XunChuan. QZZ is very loyal to LR. LR managed to clean Qin family name. For QZZ, LR was not only her savior but also her friend, her sister, and her monarch. 
• At the end part of the novel, it’s QZZ who comes to the city of HuaJing with the army from the north. She meets with LiChuan outside the city before the rebellion happens. Both of them broke back into the palace.
• After they all manage to be inside the palace, it is also QZZ who shoots CR's head before CR can stab LR.
• When LR is already Princess Regent and before QZZ goes back to the north, LR gives her an official letter which to give QZZ's real name back so she doesn’t need to live as someone else.
• In the 3rd year when LiChuan wanted to go to the north, LR asked QZZ to arrange everything for LiChuan.
• In the 7th year when LiChuan came back to bring his wife and son, LiChuan’s wife was QZZ.

Shangguan Ya & Su RongHua's story

(I will add the ‘disgusted truth’ that LR and SRH learn at the end of the novel here)

Previous life :

• Shangguan Ya was forced to marry LiChuan as Crown Princess through political marriage. She never loved and never be loved by LiChuan.
• The force by many parties for Shangguan Ya and LiChuan to produce an heir makes them need to drink medicine only for them to be able to consume the night.
• After they have done it, they will throw up and take a bath. They feel disgusted with each other. This is crazy and they have to do it not only once but many.
• Shangguan family was still angry that after a long time, SGY was not yet pregnant while Qin ZhenZhen (LiChuan’s favored concubine) got pregnant first.
• Frustrated SGY makes her look for another man. And at that time Su RongHua was willing to help her. SGY & SRH actually love each other even before SGY becomes Empress.
• Then SGY got pregnant and had LiXin whom no one knew was not LiChuan’s son but SGY and SRH’s.
• Then SRH kills QZZ to protect their son LiXin.
• Then LiChuan also uses castration to humiliate and kill SRH & all of Su's Family because he knew about SGY & SRH’s affair and because of his anger for his beloved concubine's death.
• This is also why, SGY and SRQ (SRH’s brother) ally at the end and watch LR die when LiChuan is also on the brink of death. It is because they want to protect SRH’s last bloodline LiXin to ascend the throne.

This lifetime :

• The first meeting for SGY & SRH in this lifetime was when LiRong chased SGY to stop SGY. LR wants SGY to decline the political marriage that makes her Crown Princess. SGY jumps from the window and SRH catches her.
• Since that time, SGY & SRH have become friends who like to play and drink.
• Although SRH is the eldest from Su Family, he doesn’t want to be the Su family's successor. He rather play outside and make his brother Su RongQing be the successor and do family business.
• SGY agreed to work together with LiRong so that a disastrous political marriage doesn’t happen. LR, SGY, and also QZZ become great friends who work as allies. 
• This lifetime SGY is still a free spirit, loves to gamble and play SGY that never wears a heavy makeup mask like in her previous life.
• Towards the end, SGY & LR stand at different path with SRQ. SGY & LR want LiChuan to ascend the throne while SRQ works together with Consort Rou to dethrone and kill LiChuan.
• That’s why at that time SGY ask SRH what he want to do in the future. SRH who didn’t know anything when being asked only answer that they will always play happily.
• So, SGY drew the line, even wanting to marry another man (Lin FeiBai). It is because she thinks that she and SRH won’t have a future since they walk a different path and SRH will never want to inherit Su Family to stop SRQ's scheme.
• Only after that did SRH learn everything, even he knew what happened in his previous life from SRQ.
• SRH always loves his brother SRQ and wants to stop him since Su family is never involved in the throne battle.
• But at that time SRQ already knocked out their father and wanted to knock him too. So, SRH can only run away. SRQ also already arranged for Su's family army to get ready to follow him to rebel.
• SRH tips SGY about SRQ's plan to rebel with the army. Then SGY chase LR until outside the city to tell LR (this happened when LR escaped the chaos city while being pregnant). LR decides to go back and enter the palace.
• SRH managed to take control of the Su family’s army and help SGY & LiChuan with QZZ & the north army easily come inside the city.
• In short SGY, LR, PWX, and LiChuan win. Everyone thought SRQ died. SRH held a funeral for him, and then SRH took the whole Su family out of the city.
• At PWX & LR’s grand wedding, Lin FeiBai told SGY let’s not delay each other. He can see that SRH is willing to die for SGY, so let’s forget about marriage.
• In 7th year, after LR received northern maps from LiChuan, SGY asked for an expedition to the North. So, LR and SGY together go to the north.
• All this year, SRH stayed low out of the city. He thought the Su Family SRQ once disobeyed LR and caused chaos, so he was afraid that although Su family already retreated but marriage between Su and Sangguan will cause SGY trouble.
• But, now that he hears SGY is going to the north, SRH thinks that maybe he can’t see SGY again and suddenly feels selfish and wants to cause SGY trouble by meeting her.
• So, finally, after 7 years, they held their wedding. Although Su family is not as glorious as before, their wedding is grand and SRH can come back to the city
• SGY told SRH what kind of person LR is. LR has the world in her heart, not political schemes. So, as long as LR is here and as long as SRH loves SGY, they can always be together.

Fin.

I only want to say that no matter Li Rong & Pei Wen Xuan, Qin Zhen Zhen & Li Chuan, Shang Guan Ya & Su Rong Hua, or even Su Rong Qing in the south, they all have more and more beautiful life & beautiful ending in this lifetime. For Li Rong, Pei Wen Xuan, and Li Chuan who rebirth with their past memory, this life is a kind of beautiful redemption as they succeed carve a new path to their better and happy life. As for Su Rong Qing, although he chose the wrong path, at least he has a kind of peaceful life far in the south.