The Crown Prince only laid his eyes on him but he didn't really harm him yet he's hell bent on his life. Okay, I understand, but the way he used Shen Huaishi is way too much. Also, was there any difference between him and Xi Rong? At least Xiao Jie was innocent, he knew early on that Xiao Jie isn't fit for this position and his heart was so pure yet your favorite MC ruined his life. When Xi Rong pointed out his crimes and told him about retribution, I really hoped he would get his karma.

and that one important goal in his life is to give the MC freedom to act and not surpress his malicious heart (too much dog food huhuhu)

The fact that he decieved and manipulated the shadow guard into killing the crown prince who he love, who thought of him as friend felt way too much for me. Especially how the crown prince originally didn't even kill the shadow guard's family in the first place, it wouldn't have been this bad if the author had the crown prince actually killing the shadow guard's family to make the revenge justified as well as MC making the shadow guard doing so didn't feel as immoral. I don't mind it if he schemed towards people who deserves it, but don't involve people who don't deserve it. You could just imagine how hurt he was by it.

Another major point that bothered me was how judgemental MC is, especially towards the fourth prince who was simple minded and naive. Like not everyone needs to be a shitty person like you. My disliking towards the MC grew worse when I heard about what the MC and the ML did towards the fourth prince and his half brother.

What bothered me the most as well was how easily the crown prince and there was barely details on it, and how things with his shadow guard just ended there, they were just one of the characters who existed in order to promote the main couple when they were originally the main protagonist. Even if the author excused them with the reason of they already have their spotlight with their past novel, the way things had led to felt too cheap with how bad the protagonist buff is with his death considering how it was portrayed that he was supposed tot be hard to get rid of with his novel protagonist buff. Maybe he was actually still alive and that I just dropped early but seeing how no one mentioning them, I guess the story of the shadow guard and the crown prince simply ended there.

The MC is an amazing character. The author did a great job on the MC's characterization and the changes in his feelings for the ML. He started as this reluctant husband who's planning on offing the sickly ML during their eedding night to being this person who fell deeply in love with his smart but lazy husband. As a warning, he is not the kind, gentle, white moonlight MC character. He's smart, ruthless, and, as he was described, full of malicious feelings. He's like a beautiful but very poisonous flower. He can off anyone who tries to do evil to him and his loved ones. He's also very protective of the people he cares about, and one of those people is his salted fish of a husband, the ML.

The ML is, well, I really love the ML, he's enjoyable to read and the main source of joy in the story. When he transmigrated at the beginning of the story, he was just 17 years old, a high school student. Sometimes his age shows and it's such a contrast since his soul is in the bodies of grown men. His character is basically a salted fish, and just wants to live a lazy life. He likes fishing and laying down, just living with the MC, but he's a great character. As much as he is a salted fish, when push comes to shove, he's there for the MC. I love how very human the ML is. When his soul was in the body of the general and he was about to lead the army to battle, he showed weakness to the MC the night before he's about to leave. He admitted that he was a little scared. But when he rode to battle the next day and fought, he gave all he got. That's basically the personality of the ML, he's a salted fish but a very dependable, kind, and smart one. He might even be smarter than the MC who's a cunning and a Machiavellian character

I think they killed four major charakters.

• First the brother who mainly humiliated the MC, but he was only actually killed when he tried to take ingredients of MLs life-prolonging medicine and confronted ML, which resulted in ML throwing up blood and aggrevating his condition.
• Then we have the crown prince. ML wants to kill him because he knows the original ending for MC and that the crown prince would force himself on MC and cause MC to die in the original book. He is just too powerful, so MC and ML can only deal with him that way.
• Emporer (?). Well, they mainly play with the emporers health and manipulate him, but he was already sick at that point in time. I think they did have a hand in his demise, but he was already dying.
• The eunuch half-brother. Well, that one was the most justified imo. They tried to kill and scheme against each other and well kind of did. The eunuch pretty much killed the general.

Aside from these I don't think they killed any major characters or did anything too bad. And well considering the time in which the story is set, I think they are quite okay and humane.

They did spare the younger prince brother, they did not touch anyone in the Lu household besides the brother (and the trap for the servants) and they gloated over other peoples misfortune. The rest is just a bit of scheming which is absolutely normal in this setting. We also see that the MC will not go overboard in the extras where they are in the modern world. He is just behaving according to his setting, which is fair imo.

He really wanted to kill the Emperor and the Crown Prince because they covet his beauty. He knew they're dangerous because they have the power to coerce him to submit. He couldn't really run away, ruining his face or committing su*cide wasn't an option for him either, so death for them then. Of course he killed other people for less, like his step brother in law, but then again, that man was petty and vindictive.

I got a bit sad for Xi Rong actually, but then again, he's been warned and then still choose to be greedy. Still sad though, but what XR did was really dangerous so his retaliation was somehow justified too.

The reason why Xi Rong was guarded with Qingyu in the first place is bc he also wanted an in to the power when he asked for the Tianji Camp's seal, wanting to control a military force that should have been the Emperor's, so technically, Xi Rong was forced to be on guard against him, thus forcing him to make a move of Gu Fuzhou. Qingyu just asked for it.