I agree. And people are forgetting in some cultures, when the King picks a Concubine, it's bad for her to refuse. It would almost be like treason. Either she and her family would lose their lives or they would be exiled. So, a lotta times, the women don't have a say-so about becoming a Concubine. In this situation, I don't blame the MCs mother. I blame the King for starting this sh*t by not equally seeing them both AND the Queen for acting on her emotions and poisoning the Concubine. I want their whole Monarchy to die out and bring in a new RF tbh....
and based on what you and op said it seems like the elixir empire/kingdom is based on european monarchy between the 14th to 16th century at least thats my guess though
I don't know if the concubinage system is ok in here, it likely is; thinking back on all the stuff that went on in royalty back then, plus the reaction of everyone in here (and also considering that the mom is supposedly depicted as "kind" and "nice" when she could be seen as a person who wedged her way in a relationship, loveless or not - indeed, her being nice would then sound fake, like she is giving alms to the queen by asking him to give her his favor as well...) but when it comes down to it, it's the king's fault. From the illness of the mom, to the poison in the main character's body, to the jealousy of his wife. Considering what went on in the short while he's shown himself, he's a king without much of a backbone. Wishywashy, only thinking of what befits him, even when he deprives his daughter of her needs/orders his daughter's execution/sends her away. Maybe he does love her, but it feels so superficial.