I can see many ppl are rooting for that ceo or the actor whatever he is but by looking at the raws ( idk Chinese ) he already had a lover whom he used to neglect but she had an accident and is now in coma so when he met jinchuan (MissE) he got interested in her coz they look alike thats what my guess is..
The emperor did smth foolish in the past and BC of that the gal she loved got killed plus ended up hating him and .Now he don't want anyone then why show interest in noble consort? What a bitch
If the girl that died isn't the og ranhee seo, then def ranhee seo and the dethroned empress got something to do with it. Maybe the emperor is lowkey punishing Ranhee Seo by ensuring that she doesn't experience happiness, and by that by forever locking her up in the palace full of trickery and betrayal. He mentioned before that mc can be his and his alone, meaning that he doesn't want to let her go, either Ramhee Seo dies or he dies before she can experience freedom. He sorta wanted the mc to experience the same loneliness, together experiencing that same life long loneliness of not having someone they love. The emperor, being the one who lost his loved one in the past, and Ranhee Seo, being unable to obtain and experience the emperor's love, is in itself torture for both of them.
If this is really the plot, this is awfully a bittersweet journey for both of them.
Thank you for uploading this thou some ppl (1 %) are not appreciating but plz don't get disheartened other ppl appreciate it