While it's good to have that arrogant crown prince taste his own medicine, it's still jarring not to know how things happened.
Right before the flashback, in chapter 16, Hong Lyon had barely managed to keep her new palace, which was only relatively better than her old one. She was still the lowest of the low in the princess hierarchy, every other sibling was better positioned than her, and in chapter 17 the citizens point out that, when she left the country two years ago, her attendants "looked like they were being dragged to the slaughterhouse" and many thought she was being banished.
So how come she is so favored now that she's trusted to deal with (some of) the affairs of the kingdom? How did she become so influential in the Empire? I guess we'll get flashbacks sooner or later, but I really want to know. And where are the other royals? We've only seen the Crown Prince so far.