The show starts with FL lying in bed with a man she thought was her husband but found that he wasnt. She was later caught by her in laws for adultery, and later saved by her husband. He took her away which she thought was to safety, but instead he brought her to her grave. He cracked her head with the shovel and buried her alive. Driven by the will to survive, she dug her way out and passed out by the river, and later saved by a lady foraging fruits in the forest. This lady, Jiang Li, promised to come back with food and medicine for the injuries, however she was caught while trying to sneak out of the residence during the night and was punished with flogging instead. FL found her way to this residence, sneaked in and got in time before Jiang Li died, where she managed to express her grievances of her life, telling a sad story of being slandered and abandoned by her own family for ten years since she was 8yo. FL decided to take revenge for Jiang Li and get to the bottom of her own betrayal, so she went back to capital using Jing Li’s identity solely relying on her wits and intelligence. Along the way, she met with Duke of Su, an investigator for the emperor, and they both began a relationship by using each other for their own goals but later fell in love. The show is one of those of conspiracy and court political rife than action packed. It’s like Joy of Life minus all the actions. But gotta say Joy of Life’s politics is of higher tier.

I had to admit the storyline is solid and engaging and the casts’ performance are powerful but some scenes are quite pushover. I’ve been watching shows with physically strong FLs back to back, so its refreshing to watch one with FL who isnt able to wield a weapon and is not physically strong, but extremely shrewd and witty instead. I liked her character very much, except how easily she falls in love.

I think the actress playing the FL is rather ordinary looking, so it’s definitely unconvincing to see people praising how exceptionally beautiful she is throughout the show. She also doesnt look young (FL was supposed to be 18 at the beginning of the show, and maybe around 20ish at the end), hence it kinda killed the vibe, like how Zhang Ziyi looked ridiculous playing a 16yo in The Rebel Princess. I also think that the real Jiang Li and even Tong’er are much more beautiful than her, and of course much like a teenager than FL. Wait, come to think of it, the rest of female supporting cast like Jiang Ruiyao, Liu Xu, or even Ye Jia-er are much prettier than her. It’s rather funny on the homecoming arc where Tong’er disembarked from the carriage and people commented how ordinary she looks, and then suddenly when FL disembarks, people suddenly praised what a beauty she is. It’s one thing if they had been dressed differently, Jiang Li being the noble’s daughter would be dressed in better clothes, but they were both still in the hall’s uniform which is ordinary. Had them both been standing side by side, i wouldve thought Tong’er was the higher born and FL being the maid. Her crooked smile is also weird-looking. Anyway, the actress has the looks of 30ish than late teen, so yeah her looks doesnt really fit the role, but her performance is undeniably top notch.

As for costume, the dresses are okay and not too flamboyant, but the pearl/bead make up is really distracting, i can handle the cheekbone and forehead adornment, but those on the dimple is really overdoing it. They look so weird, like some alien in Star Wars movie.

And the slow-mos!!! Theyve got tonnes of those. I keep fast forwarding those moments and still wont miss any scene. It was like watching sinetron instead of cdrama. The slow-mos truly irked me throughout the show.

Maybe romance is not my kind of genre, but the main leads’ proximity scenes are pretty cringy and blerghhh. She just got ‘killed’ by the love of her life, whom she had sacrificed everything for, and she suddenly found herself falling for the duke? What kind of bull is this? Somebody with that kind of trauma would normally take years to get over it and even then theyd scrutinize love like none other. How can she fall that easily for this notorious and ruthless duke just because he occasionally saves and helps her? And even if he loves her deeply, would it really be that easy to recover from her own trauma and grab this rebound lover? It’s one thing if she had just got dumped by her lover, she literally got dumped and buried alive by her own husband whom she left her family for, whoever can recover that fast from that kind of betrayal? If she had not been so much in love with her husband, or had been mistreated or it was an arranged marriage, i wouldve believed she’d fall that quickly for the duke, but with her current background on love betrayal, it’s ridiculous and too far-fetched especially with someone of the duke’s character, a shrewd and ruthless man who wont bat an eye to abandon his pawns to reach the goal. The moments when she smiles at him and laments her own feelings during this proximity scenes are really unconvincing. Gross even, thinking how badly she was betrayed then and then suddenly she’s falling for this duke. Makes her look rather cheap and clingy for men. It took awhile for me to realize why i didnt like the pair - they had zero chemistry! Somehow I fail to feel the spark. I mean, i didnt quite like Chang Yuqing character from Fighting for Love because he was an antihero, but i totally ship Changyuqing-FL pair. It’s nonexistent here. And I actually liked Duke of Su because his character is interesting, but i cant get myself to like his pairing with FL. Something is just off somewhere. Maybe the timing wasnt right. If this had happened years after she was betrayed, maybe it’s acceptable. Problem is it’s just been a few months after. It wouldve been believable if she rejected his advances earlier on and only realized she had fallen in love with him at the end of the show, after going through thick and thin together then only it’s easier to swallow. To fall in love so early on just doesnt make sense. And that scene when they were saving her father’s men from the mine, it’s so irritating how they keep staring at each other while other people are fighting off the enemy for their lives around them. Like seriously? U cant pick another moment for that really? Many of these proximinity and staring scenes are real cringe-worthy. And lets not mention the so called flirty conversations between them. Theyre too awkward and painful to watch. Too bad cuz i really liked this Duke of Su, but I just cant ship him being with FL. It’s weird to see two leads whom I like and yet it’s painful to watch them flirting with each other.

It’s great to see the one playing the emperor again here. The first time I saw him was in A Journey to Love as regent, Prince of Danyang and he somehow caught my attention despite the small role. So i’m kinda excited to see him again on this show as emperor. He has a likable face. And I also really like Duke of Su’s bodyguards Lu Ji and Wen Ji. Lu Ji is the silent one who speaks only when necessary, while Wen Ji is the goofy and rather naiive one who keeps getting punished by their master cuz he’s always saying the wrong things. Lu Ji reminded me of Qian Zhao from A Journey to Love. His face and personality really resembles Qian Zhao.

The most memorable and electrifying scene is the striking of the Admonishment Drum. It’s an extremely moving scene when the rest of Huai villagers take turns to strike it after FL did, all to redress the wrongfully accused Magistrate Xue capital punishment. The retrial of Magistrate Xue’s case in front of the emperor is also epic and moving. I must say other than how badly the love story between the main leads look, i totally love most of the other aspects of the show.

Although i think they really pushed ridiculousness to its limits with the last episode where FL suddenly becomes the kingmaker by shooting the arrow which she had only ONE shot of practice before. Utter ridiculous.

Opening and ending themesongs are too sad, the beat is too slow and didnt catch my attention. However the music scores played by Jiang Ruoyao and Jiang Li during the entrance exam are truly captivating.

It’s a very good show, but I dont think it has any rewatch value to me. Probably because i’m more of an action packed show kinda fan. I would totally recommend it though because the plot is great. I had to give more stars on the rewatch value so not to drag down the overall rating, but honestly I wont be rewatching this. Good story nonetheless and it gives a pure satisfying feeling at perfect retribution and revenge.