The "I'll settle old and new scores together" line from Sun Jian before going to face Sun Hao got me hyped. We need that revenge payoff soon. The setup is perfect: despicable villain, clear reason to hate, and the MC just got a power-up.
The Empress (Ulanara Jing Xian) is introduced as beautiful and kind, which conflicts with my memory of her from *Ruyi’s Royal Love* and *Princess Huanzhu*. Lin Xiaoxiao herself notices that she is different—nicer, more talkative. I appreciate that the author includes this character development hint. It shows that things will change and that trauma may make her the cold person we know from later stories. Lin Xiaoxiao’s decision to treat her kindly and avoid calling her the wrong name (she almost said Qingying) is a good restraint. It makes her cautious. The relationship between the two women feels warm and genuine, which is nice given how often Empress and Empress Dowager are enemies in dramas. I’m hoping they become allies. The friendship potential here is strong, and I’m rooting for it.
The choice to make the manufactured monsters "brainless" is a good constraint. It forces Lu Che to rely on his sapient subordinates (Sals, Wolf King) for complex tasks. This naturally creates a command hierarchy and gives the named characters more importance.
One minor nitpick: the transition from the opening scene to the rebirth could be smoother. We just see Ziyou die in Huo Xifei’s arms, then it cuts to “Ah, Second Miss has awakened!” without explaining how she got back. Later she says she was a wandering spirit for twenty years, so you piece it together. But the first read felt a bit jarring. Still, it’s not a huge issue once you realize it’s a typical rebirth opening with flashback to past life death scene.