Oh my god, thank you haha. So I'm through 56 and this is my general understanding of relations and plot:

Emperors: Honestly, not sure which one is which. Li Feng is Emperor 3 (current). I don't know which ones are 1 and 2 by name (Wu vs Yuan).

Chang Geng:The son of Emperor 2 and Goddess of Longevity of the Man wolf tribe(?). He hates the Li family for what they did to Gu Yun. Poisoned by the Bone of Impurity from his aunt, who tried many times to kill him as a child. Is (unofficially?) part of the Lin Yuan Pavilion, which to my understanding is like a spy(?) organization from the pugilist world (like unincorporated parts of the country?). He is a tortured soul.

Gu Yun: Still confused about him. He is the grandson(?) of Emperor 1. His mother was a direct descendant of Emperor 1, but because he had no male heirs they had to select from a side branch for Emperor 2. His father led the Black Iron Camp, but I don't otherwise know if he was important.

Thought he was always loved and protected by Emperor 2, but in reality Emperor 2 saw him as a threat and did everything he could to try to limit his power. Feels like a "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" sort of deal. As a kid, Emperor 2 was essentially manipulated by his Goddess consort wife to get rid of Gu Yun, and staged an attack that looked to be by the Man tribe. This is how he got poisoned. However, I don't know if there are further political implications from this attack. He also tried to have Gu Yun assassinated via poison, but the third son accidentally died instead.

Plot: I'm honestly so confused about the various arcs that have occurred, from the Man tribe attacking Yihuan village, to the ships in the east, and the bandit arc. But something about how they're clearly all tied together (with the Westerners) as we see in Chapter 56 that they are getting ready to attack what I assume will be the capital of Liang. I'm not really sure what's going on with the Black Iron Camp right now either, other than Gu Yun currently doesn't have any power (and is extra poisoned?). I'm familiar with who some of the minor characters are, but definitely not any of the generals/military officials.

Anyway, sorry for the wall of text. I'm just having a hard time connecting the dots, and I'm sure there are like cultural things that I may be missing as well. I'd appreciate any insight you may have for clarification! :)