This was a Webnovel. The majority of Webnovel writers LOVE TO DRAG the story slowly. They post chapters weekly too and get paid. Often in one chapter is just a 10 second dialogue with with too much monologue of the same argument with cliffhanger at the end. Then you read the next chapter and the cliffhanger is fake allarm.
Author of Remarried empress and Men of the Harem in particular drags their story to the point of ridiculousness.
Slow pace story, simple short written chapters all make for stable income for minimum effort.
Plus they know there's always audience for this overused Villainess cliché that's why they bake hundred of it. Particularly Korean and Chinese Webnovels. Ofc some are more unique while some are just the same story with different name/character.
I also read Remarried Empress but the thing with that one is that it's paced nicely, albeit slow to the point that it didn't feel like it was dragging, at least that what I think so. But I agree with the stable income reason lol villainess/isekai trope is indeed pretty popular despite being cliche
I'm only chapter 21 but it's so cliche of a story and I can already tell from the comments that it's just dragging at this point. When will authors realize that many chapters ≠ good story. Isekai/Villainess/Reincarnation I've read so far always have the same flow, it's just tiring to read, there's nothing new.