ML bestowed MC marriage to Zhao Luli, her previous life husband. Ah, that was a jerk move by ML. It was enjoyable watching him fall in love with MC and then hating his past self over and over again for forcing his love to marry someone else. So refreshing.

BELOW IS A BIG SPOILER BUT I COULDN'T IMBED THE SPOILER.

.

...

ML bestowed the marriage because he felt he owed Zhao Luli for taking his first wife, Ye Zhen, as his concubine. However, ML was tricked by Ye Zhen into becoming his concubine. ML didn't love her and never consummated their marriage.

The 1st husband's second brother. Did he come back or not? Or I just missed reading his part?

I'm glad he didn't fall in love with her at first glance and wanted her no matter what just because of a couple of sentences she used to rebuke someone. Only after hearing her true thoughts he gradually became more and more attracted to her and then, later on, to her looks (she was wearing a veil during most of their early encounters).

MC is leading him on, consciously or subconsciously. She openly admits to this, later on, confessing to her duplicity, and explaining how she wants him to hold onto her. She needs sincerity and perseverance, no wonder, considering her first and 2nd life both having to tango around with the s*upid and cowardly 2nd ML (ex-husband, Marquis Zhao).

If she wasn't leading him on, she wouldn't turn back after rejecting him to ignite a small flame of hope nor sending back her replies of 'rejection' to the love letters but never ignored them.

There's no way of measuring the expiration date on someone's feelings so she's very very very carefully, testing out the waters.

Their endings are not stereotypical either, some attaining redemption though having to live with their own causes and effects. It's a far better outcome than the usual route of killing troubles and removing the thorn (in the eyes of readers and protagonists).

General Zhao (the younger brother of Marquis Zhao, her brother-in-law) 's wife and son. The poor lady got cannon foddered so hard to lift up ML's birth arc. With how the deeply emotional scene was developed, I thought MC would have had some more lingering feelings for baby Huai'en but she threw him to the back of her mind a bit too quickly.

Understandably as someone leaving the Zhao's, she has no right to interfere with her soon-to-be ex-brother-in-law's child but seeing one of the antagonist stooping low enough to drug a baby of 3months old to fake false attachments to her just to get a minor emotional stab out of MC and get away with it is quite revolting. Like MC had speculated, it makes sense that the antagonist wouldn't kill the child but it's 100% sure that he'd be absolutely ruined (character-wise) by her. I know it's just a very minor side character but argh my maternal instincts!!!!

She lost her 2nd child because of her clansmen and still served them like a maid until she almost lost her daughter as well. Oh, wow, it takes two severe lessons for her to wake the F up. That's not all, after her daughter's divorce and awful first marriage, without learning from ANYTHING, she's ready to shove her into another pit. MC voiced that thought and wanted some understanding from her mother wishing not to remarry, but this dear good mom says yes on the front and goes behind her back to arrange a marriage. If it wasn't for the strict and ridiculous list of rules the 2nd prospective in-law sent them, she wouldn't have been any wiser.

Let's not talk about how wussy and useless this mom is on other occasions. Sees trouble, and immediately faints. Sees a conflict and immediately tucks herself in. Gosh, such an awful and terrible influence. More than the Xu-Neo-Confucianism that was oppressing the women of the upper classes, I blame the mother for MC's self-restrictions.