- #1
Pitifully, I didn't recognize (due to the supernatural elements and added characters) that the court drama was a fictional recreation, or re-imagining of the rise of the historically infamous Wu Zetian until late in the story. In that regard, I felt that I didn't quite understand the feelings of the elder Zhang brother for our MC. I like how the subplot ended, but I never could comprehend what about the 1st life of the MC inspired him to try and connect with her in this 2nd life.
Moreover, why did other characters begin to dream of the 1st life? To me, in my opinion, this was the only plot point I felt disappointed me. I suppose I was hoping that the MC herself would have a more profound past than she ended up with in the conclusion I read online. Here, the novel is listed as having 6 extras, but, there, the site I read the novel on, only seemed to have one additional chapter after the MC found the ML again in the mortal world. I think it would've been interesting, as a final twist (not the twin thing I believe another commenter alluded to in his commentary) if the MC herself was goddess (maybe from the underworld?) experiencing a tribulation. IF she was a goddess already, prior to the story's beginning, it could explain both why the other characters treated her so horribly in her 1st life, why those individuals recovered their memories--since as part of a tribulation--she was meant to suffer, and why she so impacted the 2ML's tribulation, provoking the ML himself to finally come down to the mortal realm, undergo a love tribulation with the MC, and confront his twin brother. Personally, I've always wanted to read a story where two people's tribulations--separately planned, perhaps by different powers--"accidently" interfere with each other. However, this was not to be and there is no obvert reason given as to why the MC and ML were so connected in personal character and circumstance. Alas, I suppose leaving the intersection of the MC and ML as a some kind of predestined love must suffice.
[collapse]
