@howalonnie I respect your hot take and am happy to say your opinion is wrong. Trashta isn't playing the game, she is fucking up time after time after time. She is being manipulated by Duke Elgy, who is essentially a spy for the western kingdom whose purpose is to sow discord in the eastern empire's imperial family. Trashta isn't making grand schemes, she is either following along or being spiteful with her reactions. Trashta could avoid ALL of this if she was just honest about everything. The emperor KNOWS all of this and is still protecting her because he thinks she will give him an heir. He is literally willing to screw over the competent Empress because he values his side mistress and heir more than a stable empire. So why does Trashta want more other than she is greedy and too stupid to recognize how good her situation is.
Again, Trashta sucks. She could admit she had another child and the Emperor would probably save the child for her and let her raise it separately. He has vowed to let her live her life a happy peaceful life, something Trashta has claimed she wants. Trashta doesn't have to do any of the things she is doing! But because she is too naïve and manipulated by Duke Elgy, too stupid and blackmailed, and too GREEDY to just be happy with the protection she could have, she ruins the lives of everyone around her.
Trashta has a really sympathetic background, and you could root for her when she gets her petty revenge on her owner's family because that family is trash and they deserve it. But she isn't sweet, she is greedy, she isn't just naive, she is a weakness to the empire, she isn't just annoying, she is purposefully rude at times. I've read some of the novel raws, and let me warn you, Trashta devolves even more, and she becomes even more trash. You should sympathize her history and even commend her for her efforts to protect herself, but remember, she deserves to be seen as the trashy villainess in this story. She isn't just looking out for herself, she is willing to hurt and kill innocent people who have no intention to harm her because she is too self obsessed with herself to just be content with being the Emperor's concubine. Should we praise her for wanting more? Let's forget all your pointless class arguments, Trashta has a comfortable life NOW and could keep it if she would stop being a bitch.
I can see how you can sympathize with Trashta, but how are you TEAM Trashta? Navier has done nothing wrong. She hasn't been unreasonably rude to Trashta, she hasn't tried to harm her, she hasn't made things difficult for her. She just hasn't accepted her because, ya know, Trashta knows the Emperor is married and happily has an affair with him.
I'll give it to you though, The Emperor is by far the worse person. Because he is too horny, too privileged, too focused on having a stupid/sweet mistress, too obsessed with getting an heir, he treats both women poorly and drives Trashta to make dumb decisions and be manipulated and even supports her for it. He deserves his shitty ending.