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There are no “Good Guys” or “Bad Guys” in this story. There are only those who like or love the MC, those who oppose her, and those who are her easily manipulated puppets.
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The objectification & dehumanization of women and/or commoners is Prevalent. This inequality is even maliciously relished in as a tool to humiliate & bring down MC’s detractors.
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Rape and sexual assault is normalized.
It’s only recognized as something terrible bc a woman loses her value as a political bargaining piece if she’s “impure” or some sh**. The rapist is never at fault, & only punished if the woman he “defiled” was particularly useful chip. Otherwise — a slap on the wrist.
Some (not all) rape examples include:
- Yuheng getting a maid to serve her father aphrodisiacs and locking them in together. She brings the rest of the fam over to witness the rape. As I complained about the novel, the maid is not traumatized or affected by the rape at all bc she’s not a virgin. She immediately starts plotting how her own rape can benefit her. Bc that makes sense.
- Chenyu getting assumably raped by her own brother, Zihao, & this being swept under the rug bc it doesn’t matter to Yuheng
- Yuheng setting Chenyu up with aphrodisiacs to be raped by Zihao again. The naked Zihao is killed by an angry father for putting to waste all his efforts of raising Chenyu as a future empress. Chenyu is verbally blamed for the rape & for her brother’s death. Zihao is respectfully laid to rest next to his grandfather, like he did nothing wrong.
- Upset by a young lady poisonig her cat, Yuheng has a servant knock her out & leave her body outdoors to be raped by a passerby. Which, if you think about it, is also ridiculous bc how is it just a natural fact to have a woman be raped if she’s found unconscious outdoors...? Of course, the raped girl is supposed to be less sympathetic bc she wasn’t a virgin pre-rape. Yuheng goes by to rub it in her face, bringing along Chenyu as another victim of rape & sharing this common experience w/o consent.
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MC uses rape is a revenge tactic. Frequently. Not just once or twice. It’s portrayed as a comedic, just-desserts thing. “Haha, MC is so smart! She orchestrated a plan to get this or that woman raped and it worked!! B**ch deserved it!”
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MC is cunning and respectably intelligent, but she constantly relies on her fiancé to get the final word in. Just know that without his power/influence as a favored prince, her story would be VERY different. (She’d probably be dead several times over.)
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#5 is supposed to be romantic and relationship building. It’s probably their only bonding activity, rlly, bc their relationship & Love for each other comes out of nowhere. Just pops into existence, to the MC’s benefit.
Their fave bonding activity is him swooping in to ask who’s bullying “His Hengheng” & usually brutally punishing them. Very sweet. They cuddle as someone is being killed or maimed.
He finds it adorable when she’s plotting someone’s social/physical demise & showing she’s a worthy match for him. Very cute & lovably merciless, he thinks.
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Oh! And let’s not forget. He’s a grown man. She is 12, maybe 13. Digest that for a sec. Absorb it. Understand what that means for the rest of the points I’ve brought up thus far.
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All the worst parts of misogynistic, ancient Confucian doctrines are normalized. It’s one thing to portray a historical (FANTASY) setting accurate to the past of real life China, but the author has gone all in. They portray it all like there’s nothing wrong with any of it.
The only things that are “wrong” are the aspects that trouble the MC, and even that disapproval is momentary. Like, rape is only unacceptable when it’s being attempted on MC. And, again, women are chess pieces, pretty trophies, and obedient servants — this is cool. None of this is objectionable. Psychology and trauma don’t exist outside of MC’s manipulations. Oppression doesn’t exist; people are fiiine being treated like trash. Or at least the MC is fine, and that’s all that matters, right? It’s just. Mmmgh.
If there was even a hint of moral awareness, a hint of “wow, that was kind of cruel of MC” or “MC isn’t a good person either” or guilt/remorse from the MC, I’d still read on. But it’s absent. The MC’s actions of revenge/comeuppance are portrayed as wholly justified & reasonable, & the subservience of women to men is not frustrating or limiting at all.
2/10 would Not rec to a friend. Art was pretty, imo, & the character designs for the main couple are beautiful. The content is just. Not worth.
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