What I love most? He never tries to force her. Even in his growing obsession, he protects her freedom, her peace. He gives, and gives, asking for nothing. Just to because he wants to, needs to, for the unfortunate and pitiful love that died in his arm, for the words he was never able to say, for the pain he never meant to cause. He becomes worthy, not because he's forgiven but because he is changed.

Their romance isn't immediate. It's not even promised. But that's what makes it real. The female lead isn't waiting around to be swept off of her feet. She has her own path, her own people to protect, her own healing to do. And yet, as truth slowly resurfaces, and love is redefined, not a duty, not as atonement for what they lost, not as sacrifice, but as a sanctuary, they find their way back to where they belong. Not because they must, but because She chose to.

Her sacrifices, though small in the grand scheme of things, just a single pebble in an endless ocean, sends ripples that change everything. Quiet, steady, and unrelenting. Both of them, in their own ways, shaped by love, begin to shield one another the only way they know how. Through giving up pieces of themselves in a world that has only ever asked them to give more.

They were both pawns. One bound in th**ny chains, forced into cruelty and decisions that tore him up, that he could not allow himself to ever care. About anything. The other, discarded like she never mattered. Yet, somehow, they mattered to each other, even when they didn't know it yet. It's not just their love that sheltered their battered and bruised hearts, but the love of many, in their own way, found them and healed them.

The political intrigue, the betrayals, the power hungry players, it's all there, adding layers of pain and tension. But even through the harshness of that world, the story never loses its soul. And what makes this story hit so hard is that no one's truly evil, apart from the main villain, revealed in due time. Everyone has their own twisted kind of morality. Some are fighting for the people they love, some for the country that's broken them, some are avenging the dead. Everyone has a reason. Everyone has their own set of rules. And sometimes, those rules demand that they sacrifice their own happiness, their own people, for the so called "greater good"

And that's where the ML becomes different.

He doesn't follow rules, not of the court, not of war, not even of vengeance. While others accept loss as part of the price, he refuses. He fights, and he keeps fighting, choosing paths others wouldn't dare walk, just to make sure that the innocent don't get caught in the crossfire. Just to protect those who had no one else.

In a world built on collateral damage, he becomes the one who won't let anyone be collateral again. How utterly tragic. How incredibly beautiful.

And the side story? That final lifetime? It's like a soft, well earned, peaceful resolution where every regret finds closure, and every character receives what they truly deserve.

take the conscious step towards each other. Not because they were bound by some unspeakable fate but because they grew, they changed, and they realised their own worth and bravely fought for what they deserve.

the incredibly slow-burn of a romance.

I love how no matter what, Gu Changjin/Yunzhi has never forced his beloved and understands her needs. It's many, many chapters later, but... he understands she's a free bird who has many aspirations. He's truly happy just to see her smile and at peace. He's the perfect match for Zhao Zhao. In his first life, he remained single after Zhao Zhao, only making merit and sacrificing so much just to get a chance at seeing her again. And the last few chapters? Truly... what a man.

I love how in the extras, she gets to be free-spirited and the Emperor indulges her. It's so good to see everyone get a happy ending. Also, in the original story, the background story about Shen YiZhen and the man she never got to be with (but longed after her for a lifetime, never to marry) was so beautiful. I also love how this story touches on how blood isn't thicker than water—family bonds are forged. Zhao Zhao's loyalties towards those who treat her well and are good, kind-hearted people is inspiring.

It was heartbreaking to realize she had been used as a pawn and discarded from the start.

However, from that point onward, FL suddenly becomes overpowered—able to "understand" ML's unspoken words as if reading them from a crystal ball. If she had possessed that level of emotional insight in her previous life, there would have been no misunderstandings to begin with.

She was even willing to abort her child to avoid repeating the same unhappy life as Rong Shu. A mother choosing to bear the grief of ending her child's life to spare them future pain is something we can hardly comprehend.