MC is cool and elegant. She meets her husband, a cheating scoundrel, but falls in love with his gentle facade. It turns into mutual feelings, however he never reasures her of being the true and only one in his power-greedy and romantic life. Which is why when she meets one or two other potential love interests the guy has no guts to restrict her from meeting them. The MC then gets entangled even further in the power struggle between her husband and the emperor who holds the husband's white moonlight childhood sweetheart. After being left stranded in the imperial palace by her fleeing husband with his true love for a very long period, will she... more>> find a way out of the palace harem gates?---

I have read the story at least 6 times. I feel betrayed every single time. I don't believe that the husband truly was only playing an infatuated tortured gentleman for his socalled chess piece childhood love. We can never be sure unless we get his POV. At some point I felt sympathy for the emperor who fell for Gui Wan's beauty, but disgust always accompanies these feelings of empathy. The escapee enemy prince could have been an interesting person... if he wasn't plot-fodder. The same goes for my beloved general Lin En Rui. The second male lead syndrome made me reread at least four times. Every reread after is for the story and interactions. Gui Wan could have done a lot more. But she chose an ordinary love with an extraordinary person over an extraodinary love with an more or less ordinary man who has less baggage.  <<less

An Ke Lan, cool and sassy. A girl with no particular ambitions. She has been betrayed but doesn't resent anymore. Why resent when she can... more>> live worryfree. As a second-tier princess, a second-tier person and a second-tier priority in most people eyes. Nothing life-threatening will happen to her. So passing time by playing pranks and eating good food and enjoying her time with her gal-pals, while observing these four crooked gentlemen scheeming against each other is the best time of her life while being underestimated. The first elder cousin Yuwen Rui loves pranking her and taking care of her foody needs. The second elder cousin playmate also teases her and accompanies her to visit the city markets. While one day he got lost again in the streets of the capital, she is forced to meet young lord Meng Shao Jue, who she has to attend to for the very first time in her life as a maid. But no worries for An Ke Lan, since looking second-rate saved her from matching his preferences. Some time later she also has to attend to He Lian Chen, the emperor of the enemy nation. Second-rate people truly have no easy life in the hands of these self-important young gentlemen.----Reread at least eight times. I love the MC. I loved her attitude. I loved that she stayed true to her person. Her backstory ist tragic. But the story after makes it so funny. She plays the men who see her as not even the dirt beneath their nails. It's a good balance of fun and intrigue. There's surprisingly no revenge agenda on the MC's side.  <<less

Admired Protagonist in the beginning. Towards the end I don't her decision mad any sense. Was she that lonely? Her son was happy to be... more>> with his mother... <<less