Having read half of it I had to drop it when the FL and the ML were about to move from their village to the capital for the ML to study and pass the imperial examination of the highest level. The FL's s*umbag father got pissed off with the pair and sent a letter to his family in the capital to make their life difficult. I was so not interested in another batch of squabbles, rows and backstabbing by the relatives of their relatives! And crazy gals going after the ML, obstinately pursuing him, a married man. Enough is enough.

Probably because the author was seeking higher ratings, she cranked up the degree of nastiness in the behavior of the FL's relatives and reduced the magic and sweetness in the novel to the point that I lost interest in reading it. Reading about extreme forms of ab*ses of women is not a pleasant pastime. That and the fact that after a year and a half of marriage, 1000 chapters into the story, there was zero progress in relationship between the FL and the ML. All this time they shared a bed like two strangers, never shared a kiss or a hug or had feelings other than appreciation of each other as suitable spouses for each other. These folks are too lukewarm, 👎👎👎 They are great as family members to their family, as a brother, a sister-in-law, as a daughter in law, etc., but they are not a romantic or a loving couple. This novel pays zero attention to such matters and neither of them is passionate.

(They suddenly consummated their marriage in ch1022 and then went back to their usual relationship style.)

Even when FL became empress, people can still jump up and be a**holes. But when she was still an official's wife, people couldn't do the same thing even to the prince's wives. It's so vexxing.

after the Crown Prince and Emperor die and the throne battle is inconclusive, the country actually takes on a Warring States style. While I've seen novels with the MC and ML working their way up as poor magistrates, rarely do they feature warlord-type rebellions for establishing a new dynasty without prior royal blood in the family. (Even if he's a benevolent magistrate-turned-warlord, it's a chaotic time and eventually he is, effectively, a conquering warlord.) The conquering part also took multiple years, after years of establishing himself as a magistrate; while it could've gone on for longer, I was really surprised by the fact that it wasn't instantly handwaved in the typical manner. (You know -- all the shitty princes f*ck up and kill each other and MCs instantly win.) It wasn't what I was expecting from a novel like this.