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Major Spoilers:

1. Qing Tian / Yiwen

- She's the main character of this manhwa. Qing Tian is a college student from the 21st century who got transmigrated to the Xia dynasty. Contrary to expectation, she didn't transmigrate into Yiwen's body but rather traveled to the past as Qing Tian, her true self. They look alike, so initially, she believed herself to be Yiwen, and others didn't question her identity either.

She will overthrow many concubines and resolve various issues on her journey. She's a remarkably strong protagonist. Later, she falls in love with Emperor Xia Wei and gives birth to their first child, "Cheng Hua". The first child, "Cheng Ling", belongs to the real Yiwen, so despite sharing identities, he's not biologically hers.

Here's the major spoiler: due to certain circumstances, she divorces Emperor Xia Wei and ends up with the First Prince. They return to the modern world together and have a child there.

2. Empress Yiwen

- She's the wife of Xia Wei and the empress of the Xia dynasty. She had a difficult time in the harem and died from poisoning orchestrated by the concubines. After her death, our MC transmigrates into that world and assumes her identity.

Here's the spoiler: the real Yiwen didn't originally love Emperor Xia Wei. She loved the First Prince, but the Empress Dowager forbade their relationship, forcing her to marry Xia Wei. She eventually fell in love with him, but as Xia Wei became emperor and married other women, fathering children with them, she lost trust in him. Their relationship deteriorated to the point where the emperor disregarded how the harem treated her.

Another spoiler: she knew the First Prince was alive and continued to communicate with him through letters. While it was considered cheating, it was her only way to cope with depression caused by mistreatment in the harem, where concubines wielded more power than her, and her husband failed to console her.

3. Emperor Xia Wei

- He's the husband of Empress Yiwen and the ruler of the Xia dynasty. Originally, he wasn't meant to be emperor; that position was intended for the First Prince. Raised by the Empress Dowager after his real mother's death, he was adopted under the late emperor's orders. The Empress Dowager controlled his life from a young age, including decisions and court affairs. To protect Yiwen, he blindly followed her orders. He truly loved the real Yiwen and agreed to become emperor for her sake, without considering the consequences of it.

Here's the real spoiler: he played a part in Yiwen's death by allowing the concubines to poison her (and previously, with a poison that made her infertile). He's a bastard, so don't worry; he's not the ML. Later in the story, he divorces Yiwen, and their children go with her and the First Prince. He's also forced to abdicate, with the throne returning to his brother. Even after these events, he shows no signs of redemption, marrying two more women and being manipulated by one into starting a rebellion.

4. Qilang

- Like Qing Tian, he's also a transmigrator, but unlike her, only his consciousness transferred into that world. The real Qilang's consciousness disappeared due to severe illness, allowing him to take over his body. At first he seems to be the 2nd ML, but later on he gives up his feelings for Qing Tian upon learning of her love for the emperor. He remains a loyal ally, aiding both the empress and emperor. Eventually, he marries a concubine.

5. Prince Xia Huai

- He's the real ML of the story. He loves both versions of Yiwen, unlike his brother Xia Wei, who only loved the younger Yiwen. He was meant to be emperor, but after Xia Wei married Yiwen, he faked his death for a foolish reason but later regretted it. Upon learning of Yiwen's mistreatment in the harem and by her husband, he frequently exchanged letters with her to console her. The Empress Dowager imprisoned him in an abandoned palace and threatened to kill Yiwen. He remained there, inactive, until the current Yiwen (Qing Tian) discovered his identity and ask for his help, continuing their letter exchange. Later, a concubine discovers their communications and reports it to the emperor. Upon learning that Yiwen was punished by Xia Wei, Xia Huai reveals himself. The Empress Dowager initially supported him, believing he would kill Xia Wei and Yiwen, but instead, he collaborates with them to stop her plans. Xia Wei agrees to abdicate in exchange for Xia Huai protecting Yiwen.

6. Concubine Liu Feng

- She's a malicious concubine initially allied with Fei Xiao but was actually manipulated by her. Her sister, a former concubine, was killed under Fei Xiao's orders, but Fei Xiao lied to her that it was done by the Empress. After learning the truth, Liu Feng decides to cooperate with Yiwen. Beneath her harsh exterior, she's kind and somewhat tsundere, which adds a cute aspect to her character. She doesn't love the emperor and only joins the harem to avenge her sister. Spoiler alert: she ends up with Qilang and returns to the modern world with him.

7. Concubine Fei Xiao

- She's one of the main antagonists of the story, She will do a lot of bad stuff to the Empress and fights her a lot in the manhwa. Her hatred stems from her son's death, which she wrongly blames on the empress. Yiwen later reveals that the Empress Dowager orchestrated her son's death to prevent Fei Xiao's family from gaining more influence (as she bore a prince). Despite this revelation, Fei Xiao remains unconvinced and is ultimately killed by Xia Wei after attempting to murder Yiwen.

8. Empress Dowager

- The true antagonist of the story, she commits a lot of bad stuff and orchestrates several deaths to torment Empress Yiwen. Writing all of it would take too long, so in summary, she despises Empress Yiwen because she was loved by many, unlike herself. Yiwen's mother is the Empress Dowager's younger sister, which sparked her hatred. Unlike her sister, who enjoyed a happy marriage, she was sent as a low-ranking concubine in a harem. Upon learning of the First Prince's love for Yiwen, she arranged Yiwen's marriage to Xia Wei to prevent her from becoming empress. However, when the First Prince faked his death, Xia Wei ascended to the throne, making Yiwen empress anyway. Thus, the Empress Dowager made life difficult for her in the harem, manipulating Xia Wei, and exert more power than the emperor himself.