The Grand Princess Chapter 44 Discussion

I read till chapter 44 and then skipped to the last 10 chapters.

I feel quite torn about this novel in that the characters are interesting and yet they can also be tiresome. The plot and flow are supposed to be realistic/ rational but it's overly dramatic and kind of implausible for the time period.

1) main characters (4/5) : the FL and ML are pretty likable and I do like that they feel like equals and they both contribute to each other and to their own success. What I found tiresome is that their thought process with each other goes in circles of hesitation, flirting, hesitation, warmth, hesitation, plotting together, hesitation, pushing each other to other people, jealousy, hesitation, more flirting. I do understand the rationale to some extent given their history but it did get kind of irritating occasionally. But on the whole I think this wasn't that much of a minus. So I guess the two of them are sort of still a great couple.

2) plot/ flow/ writing style (2/5) : first thing is the writing style. For a novel set in ancient China, the narration and dialogue are too colloquial and straightforward compared to other novels set in the same time period like the grandmaster strategist/ eight treasures trousseau/ tyrannical wang's beloved wife. It's not that bad but it's does reduce the vibe of the novel given the setting.

Secondly, the behavior and actions espoused in the book don't seem realistic in keeping with the timeline or even within the world created by the author. It's never explained how the princess as a female is able to accomplish the things that she does and wield the authority that she does. The novel is ultimately set in ancient China and it's not normal to have a female that is able to wield the power that she does (like yes it has happened in Chinese history but it's very rare and even if females wield authority it's normally behind the scenes). I'm not against her having so much authority but I feel that the way she was able to achieve this didn't make sense.

Spoiler

she was able to preside over an important case against a powerful family (the Yang clan) and set up a supervisory agency which both don't make sense because of the time period and the background that the author gave to her. if it's because she's supposedly a favored daughter of the emperor that also doesn't make sense because her father kept her at arms length enough that he wanted to marry her off to someone unthreatening or kill her. Why would he trust her and empower her just because she married someone who may or may not be a trustable pawn. Her husband literally only tried to enter the emperor's service and immediately he is trustworthy? But where's the basis for trusting the husband and shouldn't there be more of a trial period to truly trust him? And secondly she only married her husband for a very short period of time so why would he trust that her husband in a few days or weeks or months of marriage can turn her against her brother, mother and maternal family that she's known for 18 years. Unless she is very much trusted by him, it would make more sense for him to want her to be a spoiled useless princess rather than one that literally heads an organization that can investigate and influence the situation of other governmental organizations because she could also use it to help her brother (which she is) and maternal family

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The actions of the surrounding characters also don't make much sense for the time period in that they're too overtly hostile and aggressive towards the FL and also by extension the ML who is her husband given their statuses as a part of the royal family and given her relation to the emperor, empress and the crown prince.

Spoiler

the whole Yang family attempt at kidnap and the subsequent chase was ridiculous. how could the Yang family be daring enough to try to so publicly kidnap the princess right after a public banquet with private soldiers riding around on horses in the middle of the imperial capital sent to conduct the kidnap. As a princess, as the eldest daughter born of the empress, her residence shld presumably be in a very prominent location within the capital where other nobles are so there should be soldiers regularly patrolling the area to safeguard said nobles. her retinue should also have lots of imperial guards, eunuchs and maids. So why on earth would the Yang family try to forcibly snatch her with their private army (instead of trying to secretly drug her or smth) in such a prominent location when her own retinue and the patrolling army should be able to protect her. The fact that she really had to run away was quite ridiculous to me given the above. It was literally Yang soldiers on horses attacking. How is the story set in a world where they wouldn't be caught immediately.

The ML's family punishing the ML by caning him to try to dissuade the princess from setting up the supervisory agency and the consequences of ML's family's actions also didn't make sense to me. Again, she's the eldest princess and as her husband, he's her consort and by extension, he's a part of the royal family (he's literally called prince consort). as a part of the royal family with the legacy in ancient China associated with protecting the dignity of the royal family, why would they be daring enough to publicly punish him in full view of his clan as well as the servants that presumably accompany them. The stated reason in the book for them to do so was that they wanted to publicly disassociate from him for the eyes of the other noble families. But what about offending the royal family and the emperor by hitting the prince consort? And they're not disciplining him for committing a crime or smth. They stated that they want to punish him because the princess set up a supervisory agency that was sanctioned by the emperor. Which is also like publicly and very loudly saying we don't agree with the emperor? Like if you've watched ancient Chinese dramas or read those ancient Chinese books or just read ancient Chinese history, how can a royal be publicly (yes it's at home but there were so many people present that if it were to be investigated properly, how can so many people keep it a secret??) hit by his own clan that isn't that powerful in defiance of an emperor's imperial edict when said emperor is still in charge of empire and not in some situation like the emperors that faced cao cao or sima yi. Like yes the emperor is fighting against the noble families, but he's still in charge enough to completely bring down the Yang family when he found enough evidence to do so.

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so... in conclusion... I was somewhat disappointed by this book given that the premise and the reviews made me really excited. I still think the premise is great and the romance was pretty good but the execution of the political plot lines were pretty bad.