Yes. Manhua. I know, shocking, right? (That title is wrong. FL did not reincarnate. She regressed back to 16 yrs old self in limbo/in-between world and then popped into the other world, it seems, in her own body.)
“We are disposable chess pieces, sucked into the fight for the throne.
“Why do these men always use us as pawns and move us as they see fit? Do they not realize...that pawns can leave the board whenever they please?”
- Yin Moxiao talking about “promotion”. A pawn can be replaced by a queen, rook, bishop or knight of the same color once the pawn reaches the other side of the board. This move is unique to the pawn piece.
Action! Palace drama! Bloody politics! Literally!✅️
Women (and men and everyone in between) all have their own back stories, motivations and agendas? The women passed the [url=]Bechdel Test[/url]?!?✅️
High ranking women who are wholesomely best friends with other high ranking women? ✅️
An ML who is not physically, emotionally or psychologically abusive?✅️
An FL who is strategically action-oriented?! She is NOT Too Stupid To Live! Huzzah.✅️
“Other Woman” drama makes sense and enriches the story instead of being melodramatic nonsense. >!FL and “rival” are back to back badasses once they resolve to work together.!<✅️
Immediate, decisive and most importantly effective communication between ML and FL? Hell, yeah.✅️
Want morbidly inappropriate humor and unintentional comedic moments?✅️
All the deaths, even of the villains, have some emotional impact. It continues to affect the rest of the story.✅️
The same memories are revisited from different perspectives and characters. Characters that don't look important and appear in a few scenes in the background are often revisited poignantly later.✅️
Satisfying revenge? ✅️ Oddly enough, the villain gets this against their abuser, too.✅️
So, in Western romance there's a thing called Body Betrayal Syndrome where the FL and/ML gets dangerously, pointlessly distracted by the other's beauty and almost forgets what they're trying to do. It happens a lot in OI where FL will be looking at a weakened or situationally disadvantaged ML and forgetting the assassins literally seconds behind her will stop to wax poetic about the ML's looks.
It doesn't happen between the FL and ML here. FL, however, will cheerfully weaponize this when meeting others. Granted, seeing a very leggy woman in half a miniskirt over very tight bike shorts will make anyone in a historical setting stop and stare in shock.
Anyone who cannot do magic is subjected to extreme prejudice...which is everyone who is below nobility or the wealthiest merchants since it takes money to find a special magic stone to help activate one's magical potential. Once you're over a certain age magic can no longer be activated. This is INCREDIBLY important.
Women are publicly shamed for being women. They're possessions so FL's new main goal in life (besides helping the prince to become emperor and keep the vultures out of his bed) is to free all the slaves, reform society and force the government to legally recognize the rights of beast folks and women.
And on those notes! Romance? 😬Well, um...honestly, I think this manhua forgot it's supposed to be a romance. ML is still cold, and useless, enough to make Antarctica look tropical by comparison some 127 chapters in.
I don't mind that the romance is going nowhere fast.
MALE LEAD - The ML and 3rd Prince in line for the throne. Cold, brooding and aloof. Believes himself to be some kind of 5d chess master when it's actually his Mother, the Empress, and FL who's doing all the thinking, planning, strategizing and execution of any plan he thinks he came up with.
The only concrete action he took was to give FL the authority to gather ANY resources she wanted. Anything.
So, she went and found his best magic knight, whom he'd nurtured himself, then solidly beat the poor dude into the ground, earning the knight's respect, admiration and loyalty. The knight is literally a portable magic charging device because she can't imbue magic into her weapons herself.
Bizarrely he keeps yelling that he'll NEVER love the FL no matter what!!! Even though FL has never done anything to even remotely indicate she sees him in a romantic light. She's trying to survive and he's the best bet for that.
Hell, there's like 100 chapters where they aren't even in the same location let alone FL "trying" to make him fall for her. Dude is egotistical to the extreme.
ML had a childhood lover who was murdered by 2nd Prince and his fiancée's family. Her death was what motivated him to fight for the throne. His servants dressed FL up in that lover's frilly, cutesy, doll-like style, thinking this was what the ML wanted. Nope.
FEMALE LEAD - As much as I adore the FL I acknowledge that she has a VERY hardened streak of Not Like Other Girls. She hates makeup, dressing up and being girly/feminine. 🙄😒
Is an expert pugilist. Her fists do maximum damage. Anything drawn out will just be disadvantageous to her so she tries to knock full grown men out in 4 or less moves.
Which is actually how real street fights should go so her training is correct.
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