This drama is wonderful if you want a historical drama, romance, action, everything. Initially, I scored this lower a few months ago but I just kept thinking about the drama and how much I liked it. I even rewatched some episodes and I hate rewatching stuff!

The characters are quite fun too. The female lead is innocent and playful but in a not annoying way. She can also occasionally be a badass too and she always stands for justice. A nice break from the usual ditzy female lead. As for the male lead, he is not your typical Chinese flower boy handsome but I think that adds to his charm. The actor does a good job of bringing to life the different layers of his character. We see his manipulative side, his charming side, and most importantly his romantic side. The two actors had wonderful chemistry for one another. I was giggling like a schoolgirl during a lot of their scenes. There is a love triangle, but I didn't find it annoying either. All the side characters also did wonderfully, no complaints there.

For the story, I ranked it a little lower because it was a little confusing for me as an international viewer. I know this is based on a novel, so I'd assume that the Chinese audience was probably familiar with it. Regardless the story was engaging with enough action and romance to keep me intrigued. Maybe a few small plot holes here and there, but nothing enough to make me mad. The effects were thankfully minimal but overall not bad at all. This show also had a wonderful budget. The costumes for the female lead were stunning, they really spared no expense. All the other important characters had good outfits and the sets were well made and nice to look at.

It does suffer the typical sad ending of many Chinese dramas but all the joyful, fun, heartwrenching moments make it worth the watch. Do yourself a favor. Sit down and start episode 1 right now.