The second senior brother Shen Jingyuan is such a walking red flag. “I’ll make you wish you were dead” – over a false accusation? And he used to bring her gifts and make her laugh? That’s the kind of character development that makes me hate him even more, because we see how far he fell. He went from cute brother to abuser just because a new girl showed up. Ugh.
The pacing from the second chapter onwards slows down as she recovers, which is realistic, but some readers might want faster action. That said, the author uses this downtime to establish family dynamics and plant seeds for future conflicts. For example, the grandmother’s warning about not practicing martial arts, and Ziyou’s obedient response while thinking coldly about her cousin. The contrast is great. Also, the dialogue between Ning Shi and Zitong fills in the villainous motives.
The mother-in-law's introduction is perfectly done. She comes across as gentle and almost scared, which immediately sets her apart from the stereotypical evil mother-in-law in Chinese novels. The way Jiang Qingyue immediately tries to control the narrative by mentioning Song Yan's injury shows she's learning to navigate this world quickly. Being proactive about potential accusations is a smart move. I'm curious whether Wu Shi is genuinely kind or if she's just good at hiding her true nature.