Love how brazen the greed , love , jealousy and evil is brazenly expressed by every character in this show ; with less political intrigue and a firm Emperor this is easily most enjoyable period show but it has its downsides.

S2 is quite a contrast to S1 in terms pacing , character depth and acting. In Season 1 every character had a purpose and emotions ; except may be Wagn'er but S2 had many characters drop-by without a clear exit plot ; wondering if they will every be reused in Season2 ... For Example Si LiLi had more purpose than Wagn'er in second part of S1 but her character ground work was laid on in first part .

Fan Xian has three Fathers and two Uncles so he is well protected ; although he is a pawn for an emotionless Emperor [spoiler] also his biological father [/spoiler] he is probably loved by the others. Wagn'er is a mystery to me ; her character had a purpose for Xian to and inherit the treasury ; they had their loving moments but her moral compass is black & white and not entertaining a Si LiLi or Haiting DuoDuo [spoiler] In the novel he had romance with them both but the censors wouldn't allow this [/spoiler] ; I love DuoDuo she is dynamic and has a thought/life of her own unlike Wagn'er who feels like a JDrama/KDram Female Lead ; as most CDrama FLead have strong characters.

I love the entire Fan family ; they are the most lovable people ; including the Grandma in Dungzhou .. love how the Aunt gave up her plots once she saw how capable and non-threatening Xian is and the Papa Bear would confront CPP & EMperor everytime they put FX in danger.

The Most hateable and detestable characters are the Crown Prince , Second Prince and the Princess Royal ; these crazy narcissists don't value human lifes just like the Emperor but they don't have a moral compass and would destroy people without purpose at heartbeat. Oh I wish some some ruin for them in coming seasons.. The First Prince and Third Prince are the only good ones left in the Royal Family [spoiler]if you don't count Fan as one [/spoiler]

In terms of casting there were some forced changes between S1 and S2 due to covid delay of 4.5 years but most major characters have singed for all three seasons so we familiar faces even if their voices changes .. Hopefully another 3-4 yrs wait for S3 without major cast changes