Don't mind me, I'm just here thinking about what if after Ling Yao becomes emperor, Xing is so impressed by him protecting all the clans and tired of losing their children to this stupid succession rivalry process, that they are actually overwhelmingly in favor of abolishing the 50 wives bullsh*t and there are literally banners hanging from some houses in Xing containing paintings of Lan Fan's masked AND unmasked face with "MAKE HER YOUR EMPRESS" written across it (a Xingese version of cyberspace's hashtags, if you will)
Because they recognize her as the heroine of Xing and what if Xing as a country are romantics?? Of course they're going to root for the hero to live happily ever after with the heroine
And the council, disproving Ling's assumption that they would be so against him marrying his bodyguard and/or marrying only one woman instead of an entire harem of ladies, actually starts pressuring him to make his shadow his bride because it will unite the people (think Charles and Diana, but wherein love and devotion actually exist)
And Ling is absolutely ridICULOUSLY ECSTATIC and he's postponing asking her to marry him because he wants to stabilize things in Xing a bit first... and then finally he's ready, this is it, he'll finally confess and propose--
Right before he could, Lan Fan tells him of her engagement, to a man she met once and to whom her father apparently promised her hand.
But don't worry, she says, she'll be back right after the consummation and she vows to forever be his Shadow, being married will not change that
And now Ling, in addition to being heartbroken and jealous and crushed, has 3 problems: one, Lan Fan would never go against her father's agreement. Two, Lan Fan will never believe his confession now because she will forever think he's just saying he loves her so she won't marry the other man and become his Empress like the country wants. And three, becoming his wife would mean not being his Shadow anymore and Lan Fan will NEVER turn her back on her vow
Because that's the spirit of Lan Fan: honorable, genuine, and unwaveringly loyal
And so the emperor of Xing, even with the support of his council and his country, is tearing his hair out, because he now has to fight (technically) against the spirit of the woman he loves to try to win her heart