This review may contain spoilers
So this is my second chinese historical drama after TMOPB, and i kinda liked it. But i loved the acting of chang an, gong zi, wan mei, liu guniang, yue ying, xing feng (spelling might be wrong). Specially chang an and gong zi. I hate the character and acting of cha luo, i min she did good job to look cruel but sometimes her expressions are too overacting.One thing i hate is Ending!!!! It was sad but after reading peoples comment that chang an is alive its relief, so its neither sad nor happy happy ending.
But but but after watching this drama my eyes definitely need some good light because this drama is so dark unlike TMOPB. That drama has vibrancy, lights and soothing scenes.
I just hate the fact that we international user don't get proper subs to understand the drama,most of the time either its fan sub or no sub at all. And in fan sub there is so much error and sometimes they doesn't even translates what they are saying and what's written so its difficult to understand the story and plot fully. Like in this drama we don't know what is written on the fan wan mei holding but people says it's a hint and metaphore kinda thing which reveals that he is alive.
Apart from this most of the time characters have some witchcraft and spit blood, because why not after all it's "Blood-y" Romance.
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The cast:
From the beginning the chemistry between everyone was amazing. You will find yourself torn between all of them as the story goes on.
Music:
The music was wonderful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv6M28aDJkI
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UNDERRATED GREAT DRAMA
The two male actors did a bang job. I love Wang Duo so much, I can go on write good things about him. The pain, loneliness, hate, determination, love, care, and deep thinking is in his eyes and smiles. When the door's closing at him during last scene, I can see the loneliness and abandonment he felt....losing everything he hold dear. So much so he overshadowed everyone else. Shawn Qu also remarkable too...as a submissive reserved man that would look at Wan Mei with such devotion - he loved Wan Mei tenderly and would do anything for her. Li YiTong is great, her character flipped flopped a lot depend on whether she successfully finished the mission or not. In the book Wen Mei slept with every men, kind of gross me, the adaption is more relatable and have better story line. So much memorable acting from Wang Duo and Shaw Qu, I put them on top of best performance and favorite.The best scene was when both Wan Mei and Chan'An went separately, thru the river Chan'An left....with hundred of bright firework lit the dark night sky - Wan Mei cried and run toward the river. Gong Zi run after her just to found out how heart broken she was, memorable was the significant of explosion of fireworks as representing how Chan'An felt about.
The drawing illustrations fit in to drama, adding more dramatic than spoiling the scenes because they put it together nicely between drawing and alive scenes - not come in at very important epic scenes (Note: Long Ballad needs to learn this). It broke my heart with the ending...I demand season 2!! This drama is one of my favorite...and I don't have very many of them...
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Bloody Romance is a tale of life and death, love and loss, revenge and compassion. It is epic in every way possible. This is an intense drama, one I couldn't binge watch because every episode is packed with emotions. The cast is young but they manage to keep up with the intensity of the script. A real surprise for me was Puff Guo whom I could barely recognise.
I was really invested into the romance of Cha Ruo and Wan Mei. Without so much a kiss, their love story was absolutely beautiful and devastating. The woeful soundtrack matched this drama perfectly and intensified their scenes every time.
The antagonists in the drama were complicated characters, each had their reasons for why they turned out the way they did. They added to the plot rather than take away from it which I find is the case with a lot of Chinese dramas.
My favorite part of this drama is - WOMEN BADASSERY! The women are the ones fighting, kicking ass and protecting the ones they love. Of course, the men were heroes as well, but I loved that there were so many fight scenes featuring the women.
All in all, this is definitely a top 10 Chinese drama for me, ever. I think I would find it difficult to rewatch simply because it was so intense, I highly, highly recommend this drama - especially if you are looking for something directed at a more mature audience.
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Tragically Beautiful
Years later still one of my all time favorites!I rewatch this drama every other year. The story is tragically beautiful. The OST is one of the most hard hitting OSTs of all time.
FL is one of the most beautiful actresses ever and she can act! Even if you know this is going to be a tragic romance you can't help it but to watch it.
Gongzi the 2nd lead had equally chemistry with the FL. Both the ML characters make you don't know who you want the FL to be with ultimately.
For the happy ending loving drama goers, this isn't it. I can't say it's completely tragic, but ending is not satisfying.
I loved every good/bad characters.
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Sin City, China °7.3° °weird & D.A.R.K. but good°
Female assassins! A whole city of them! And, boy, are they terrifying. Don't Let the word “Romance” misguide you. Sure, there's a love story in there, amongst the blood, guts, and cannibalism. The secondary romance is between the torture chamber master and the savage, megalomanical City Master. It ain't no feel good love story. It isn't the romance that's going to stick with you later, anyway; it's the horror. This show is every bit as macabre as Sin City. Judge whether you want to watch it through that lens. If romance is your thing, and you don't like frightening situations or gore, skip this one. BR is mostly a drama about power.For those of you continuing on, the show is worth watching. While it is quite painful at times, it had the effect of making me feel better about the horrible circumstances I was in at the time. BR is gruesome, sad, ROUGH and, well, bloody. It isn't for the faint of heart, and it isn't for most romance fans unless you're one, like me, who also loves action and sum killin, every now and then. If you've been wanting to get a dude in your life to watch a Cdrama, maybe this is the one. (I would recommend Heavenly Sword and Dragon Slaying Saber-9 or Douluo continent-9.1 for that, btw).
BR has its slow moments, but somewhere between eps8&10 BR becomes captivating. The characters inhabit a secret world within our real world. It gets deeper and more layered as the episodes roll by. The best thing is that there are some road trips, or quests, rather. They never get old. There are consistent quality elements tossed into the hotpot by the director including lovely segues, connections, and ironies. One small example is in ep33. Prince Ning comes to the palace. Knowing that around 90% of his goals have been reached, he's decked in emerald instead of the shadowy greys he had been wearing. The 🇨🇳 know how to film flowing silk - it's resplendent.
The soundtrack is exceptionally good & Spotifiable. The musical theme for the primary duo is sad but downright sultry. Tia Ray's rich voice is a perfect romantic backdrop. Gary Chaw has a couple of excellent songs on the soundtrack as well. The fight scenes are clever with thrilling acrobatics. The animation in the opening credits is gorgeous. Recollections, flashbacks, and dreams are done in the same style throughout the show. It's edgy, it's dark, and it's thoroughly bewitching. BR is almost mesmerizing at times.
Chinese villains are fun. One has to remind oneself that these are assassins. Nobody cares if their targets deserve it or not. It's just their job. They're also under threat of death if they don't carry out their missions, preceded by torture. Prolonged, horrendous torture. Once people are desperate enough to take the vow and become assassins, they don't look back. Even among assassins, there's the regular bad guys and then the /really/ bad guys. Of course we want the really bad guys to be defeated, but we should feel conflicted about rooting for cold blooded killers… shouldn't we? Some of the bad guys are more complex than what seems at first glance. We learn that some of them have justifiable hate; their actions & attitudes aren't entirely unrelatable. One of the tragedies of human existence is that it's so rare for someone to break the cycle of evil. One character is definitely /not/ a cold blooded assassin. This character is trapped.
If the show is about nothing else, it's about our duty to get unpleasant jobs done, so let's get the bad news about BR out of the way. This isn't a cult classic like Sin City. Scenes are often too drawn out. There's plot holes, plot flops, and dead-ends in which forecasted actions were halted prior to completion - they didn't finish everything they started, just like a couple characters in the show. BR feels a bit hollow. The ending accentuates that emptiness, so we are left with that aftertaste. The torture chamber master is inconsistent. At times, he sympathizes with others and tries to stop the senseless killing and torture, yet he, himself, continues to perform torture and perpetuate cruelty. The ending is forecasted and the viewer should be cognizant of that. It reinforces the bleakness. The weirdest thing is how they set up some awesome possibilities and then just left them out there hanging, opting for a direction that compares poorly to what was possible.
Forget the above, the biggest issue with this show is that it's dark. It's different from the dark things that Hollywood puts out, which appears to be an effort to titillate with violence and cruelty. There's a clear line between acts that are right and wrong in BR. Every character has legitimate motivations; they just act on them wrongly. The dark elements are meant to shock and horrify us, but not to come through the back door and titillate us. Kudos to the writer, who authentically shows bad guys with complex motivations. In fact, many bad guys weren't born that way. They were tortured into being that way. Conversely, the writer displays good people that do dark things. The complexity is admirable. BR flies around 10,000 feet in the air. It focuses on broad strokes issues as much or more than the individual characters and their arcs. The creators allow only limited emotional investment in these people. That's a positive: Otherwise, the plot turns would HURT. At least the cat gets a happy ending!
The FL is irritating. The suffering saint(ess). She suffers. She doesn't want to kill, which means she wants her shadow (aid) dead. Even given the dire circumstances, it's overly dramatic. Fine, it's understandable that she doesn't want to kill. Was it okay, in the show's beginning, for that assassin to kill the man that was about to kill her? If not, the world would be missing one person with a good conscience and keeping someone destructive. Wait. I should check myself for a moment. Maybe I have too much bloodlust. Her struggle with taking lives is appropriate, but the way she's willing to risk her Shadow’s life is not. Overall, they failed to sell all of their wares, when it comes to her character, so she's only partially completed. In a way, once again, that made watching the show a little easier. I didn't get emotionally invested to the point where their pain hurt me as much as some other shows have. It's nice to get a break from kind of upheaval, or it would be too much. For one example, Love and Redemption, which I consider a 10 among the 10's despite its clunky special effects, caused me sufficient emotional distress that I popped a Xanax (yet I still kept watching). I couldn't handle a constant stream of that wreckage.
Speaking of the characters, Li Yi Tong is FL, Wan Mei. She becomes more relatable as the episodes go on, but they fail to fully form her. This is no fault of the actress - it's the writing and directing. It's obvious that she, the actor and the character, has done what they required her to. Tragically, her part is the least interesting one of the show. Qu Chu Xiao is ML Chang An. His voice is soothing. So many Asian actors barely look Asian to me. His looks aren't far removed from that of Eastern Europeans. It seems like the burden to make a romance work is always on the ML in a heterosexual love story. Perhaps that's because our perception is that men don't love as easily as women, so it's a greater change if a man falls in love? This particularly applies in a world of tough guys… powerful guys… dare I say /masculine/ guys? More likely, it's in my eye, the eye of the viewer, that the male lead is pulling extra weight in selling the love story, because I'm attracted to men(?). I'm honestly not sure… Attraction is an ephemeral mystery inside a conundrum, indeed. All I know is that my favorite romances are usually favs because of the performances of the male leads. Anyway, Mr. Li is particularly good. Wang Duo plays Gong Zi / Prince Ning. He is the most memorable character of the show, and perhaps the best reason to watch it. His story is riveting. He is as sincere as he had the ability to be. As with many characters, he's been pushed hard in many directions.
Everyone has their own agenda. Usually, it's revenge, and it's always futile. All these wants and appetites… The Pride, the revenge, the hostility, the cruelty & the striving - it's all futile in the end. Revenge is explored apart from society, laws, and justice. Otherwise decent people in BR kill wantonly for revenge. It isn't about the person that they're avenging. It's about oneself and satisfying one's own anger and assuaging pain. To kill an innocent person while on a revenge quest is to be a murderer. To do it a second time is to be a serial killer. To give in to anger and its outflow of unforgiveness, vengeance and bitterness, is always most hurtful to oneself more than anyone else. It's best to not let such dark indulgences and appetites, that can never be satisfied, consume us.
BR’s final words:
One glance decides your life. One stroke breaks the wine vessel. One man, one god. A broken scar. A dream intoxicating Heaven and Earth. To respect and pour. When you awake, there are 3 months of spring.
Spring brings baby mice, and our kitty will have to survive on something…
QUOTES🗣
Sometimes, fathoming our own heart is more difficult than understanding another person's heart.
The only logic in this world is that there is no logic.
When we experience more things in life, our horizons will widen more.
〰🖍 IMHO
🎬 7.4🖊〰 6.8 🎭 7 💓6.5 🦋7 🌞3 🎨7 ⚡7.3 🎵/🔊8.8 😅1 😭 6 😱6 🤢5.8 🤔5 💤3 🔚4
Age 16+ Scary images not suitable for kids under 13;Ep1 a father sells his daughter to a brothel. Violence against women depicted & worse is referred to. Cannibalism; Torture; Rape; Sex slaves; Stealing blood from virgins
Re-📺? I don't think so, but if I'm in a dark, nihilistic and masochistic mood, mehbee?
For something light-hearted, check out love between Ferry and devil, or the romance of tiger and Rose. They are not without emotional attention, but they're mostly fun.
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This review may contain spoilers
Intense drama - and an absolutely magnificent OST
Once I got past the blood and fantasy bits, I was completely engrossed in this drama. I didn't appreciate the holes in the story, too many loose ends, too many bits and pieces that were not fully explained or clear to the viewer - and most especially the ending. Tragic that he dies, or does he? We are left hanging. Those of us who hope he is still alive as some suggest, and those of us who accept his sacrifice and heroic death as his final act of love... but I prefer to have a clear ending and closure (unless of course, we will have a Season 2!)The acting was stellar. The music was hauntingly beautiful and evoked every bit of emotion that this drama deserved. I found the version of the theme song that Qu Chuxiao sings - and that is my favorite of all.
This drama might not everybody's cup of tea, but I couldn't stop watching once I got into it, and listened to the opening theme every single time.
Please let there be a Season 2! Same FL & ML - and whoever did the music!
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This review may contain spoilers
How can you not like it?
The first reason of liking this drama is Li Yi Tong, her role as assassin Wan Mei is played so well, multifaceted and convincing.In the beginning young, innocent but already full of hardship, she tries her best to bring some food home to her little brother and obviously good for nothing herbalist father.
Even after he sells her to a brothel for two bags of rice ( ( -how far sighted, how long can they live on that-), her will to live is stronger than giving in to her obvious destiny.
In the end desperate and wanting, she still finds a way of living on.
I love Li Yi Tong, I liked her in every drama, but in this one I liked her so far the most. She can display so many character traits in just one role.Really great. Although she is an assassin she never gives in to power and bloodthirst, she ist soft but strong, never killing anyone.Maybe not realistic for an assassin but she has two men by her side, one always manipulating and pushing her but also deeply in love for the first time, the other Chang An.
Chang An (Qu Chu Xiao), her shadow and his undying love and will to give everything for her impressed me so much. Who doesn't want to see a charactare like him in a drama.Torn between personal revenge and his love for Wan Mei, in the end he's always by her side, secretly helping her,pleading for her or sacrificing for her.
Though both, Chang An and Wan Mei, often make everything more complicated by giving in to their feelings, they won't stop loving each other.
Sometimes I had the feeling, that when one of them wouldn't have been there it would have made things a lot easier for the other.
Trying to sacrifice everything for each other but only maximizing the extend of damage that is done is not my ideal way of loving but yes, it's a
"bloody romance". Quite interesting.
Cha Luo as heartless and pain ridden crazy leader of the assassins is also greatly portrayed. You really get into hating her whole personality, even though you get to know how hard her life was. She is just selfish and doesn't want anyone in a similar situation having a better life than her. She clings to her power hungry self as so not to give in to her misery.
Great actress, her cruel laughter still sends shivers down my spine.
Xing Feng, Cha Luo's man,shadow and true love is also an interesting character.I really like the actor.He loves Cha Luo although she is so cruel.You can see how often he tries to pacify her but still wants to do everything for her.
Xing Feng and Cha Luo are the saddest couple I have ever seen in a drama.Him impotent and sad for not beeing able to give her what she wants and her needy and always aggressive for beeing an almighty leader but still a powerless person.
The best charactare displayed in this drama is King of Ning, really impressive. Blind in the beginning, with lots of heart illnesses but also with a powerful inner strenght, he uses everyone for his own ambitions. A lonely but manipulative guy whom you can't really see through.He is the secret puppetry master of everything.
All in all it was one of the dramas which left an imprint on me.
I highly recommend it to people who like to get
carried away by a drama.
I loved it.
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For once , a unique FL !
Now I have been watching chinese historical dramas for quite some time now , but I dont know why , to show that a female lead is strong or whatsoever , they make her loud , rude , judges things from what SHE sees without giving time to others (specially ML ) to explain ,and STILL after one , MAXIMUM two meetings , the ML falls for her , arghhh. But for ONCE ,I did not hate the FL at all , actually , I LOVED HER , she is posed , smart , compassionate and most importantly , truly loves the ML and I SEE it.The drama is a delight to watch . Yes, it is a bit dark , but you get past it because the actors are this good.
I would say it gets kinda slow towards the end (not a spoiler ), but I still really enjoyed it and it left a very good impression on me. The actors were really good but it was the FL and ML that gave stellar performances for me. Watch it , I promise you'll love it .
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Really good acting and music
Story: Especially at the beginning, some parts of the story are being thrown at you, but it does get better throughout. Honestly, some parts were confusing, mainly because they introduce characters by name before you see what the character looks like or their personality (but could also be translation errors). The dynamics between the characters are very well-written, and although some misunderstandings change the course of their relationship they end up working it out eventually. Also made me realize how psychologically torturing being an assassin is.Acting: Exceptional especially for the antagonist and protagonist but honestly every actor/actress did amazing, including the parts where the characters are desperate and suffering. You can feel the emotion in their voice. Even when there isn't anything verbal going on. In particular, the main characters' facial expressions and how they move still give the scene weight to it.
Music: A lot of the OST music I would listen to on repeat, particularly the intro song. And I know a lot of people love it for the same reasons I do. It fits the relationships between the characters in the story and the cadence of the singer really describes the emotion of the song. They do milk it a lot in the episodes but it is a moving song so, it's not as annoying as you would think..
Rewatch: I generally don't rewatch shows unless they are amazing shows/mystery genre. I feel like this show is a one-and-done situation, but I did enjoy it while it lasted.
TLDR; Story is a bit confusing at first but it flows throughout the show. Acting is phenomenal and is amazing a portraying emotion even when they aren't talking. Music is beautiful and melancholy. Most likely won't rewatch it, but it was an interesting experience.
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This review may contain spoilers
Ended up captivated by Bloody Romance
Started this drama because of Wang Duo and ended up captivated by Li Yitong's Wanmei and Qu Chuxiao's Changan, and by the unique world setting of the Guihua City!I have watched other dramas with assassin characters as lead or support roles but Bloody Romance took me by surprise. It has a very unique world building for me which focused mainly on Wanmei's growth and journey from the weak, naive girl surviving in the burial grounds to the cold but compassionate city master of Guihua City. It's like watching a female version of leveling up in male-centric stories. All the while her life story interconnected with Prince Ning's schemes and three lifelong promises, and Changan's revenge for the Xie family while contemplating his hidden identity.
She's not the expected female lead in an assassin-themed story. Not succumbing to killing without due process like the other assassins shows how much she stays true to her morals that she doesn't even let the evilness and darkness of the Guihua City corrupt her good nature despite her horrible experiences. I describe her as an oddity in the world of assassins, a light that sparks in the dim corners of the city, a fresh breath of air in their cruel world.
The only time she succumbed to her killing side is when poor Yingying was abused, and to be honest, those two trash men really deserve death. Finally, some blood in her sword from people worthy of death. It's just a shame those bloods are not sucked out by her red demon umbrella.
I especially like LYT's portrayal of Wanmei throughout the series. Her naive, weak, scared look in episode 1 is such a contrast to her cold, anguished, betrayed look in the middle of the series and to her almost detached, indifferent look at the end of the drama. That's why I enjoyed watching Wanmei because I can feel her growth through LYT's immersive acting.
QCX is really captivating as the subservient, serious, restrained shadow of Wanmei. Though I felt like his character didn't change much throughout the series, but his acting really caught my attention. His charisma is in his eyes, voice, line delivery and posture so I enjoyed watching him as much as I love watching Wanmei.
The chemistry of LYT and QCX is really good. With just their eyes and line delivery, I really felt the deep love, anguish, restraint, and pining of Changan and Wanmei for each other. The tension is so palpable onscreen that I felt goosebumps. The emotional scenes also hit so hard that I cried really hard in multiple episodes.
And of course Wang Duo. I already saw him in his other roles in the Yin Yang movie, ALON, FOF, TBL so I'm really looking forward to his character here and as expected, he didn't disappoint. I still really enjoyed his acting as an anguished second male lead who can't capture the heart of the female lead, with hidden agendas for revenge and scheming that is almost villainous. His micro expressions are really good that it makes me overthink what is true and what is false in the words and actions of Prince Ning. And his devastated expressions when Wanmei rejects him again and again, that is just so heart-breaking to watch but also an impressive acting from him.
Additionally, I also love the following:
- Cinematography: The cuts are just weird in some subplots (or maybe it's because of the script or editing?), but the overall vibes of the drama is really good, the camera angles are visually pleasing, and the direction style is almost cinematic. I also like the shots during the fighting scenes and sword dances. The camera angles and focus on their movements, hands, swords, and background settings are really nice to look at.
- Aesthetics: I love the haunting and melancholic atmosphere of the drama. The set designs are so unique and creative especially the Bi'an Chamber - that place is so eerily beautiful.
- OSTs: I really love Tia Ray's 一生等你! I'm bawling my eyes out every time I hear this OST play. The lyrics are so heart-wrenching, but the melody and vocals are so captivating. QCX also sang the male version of this OST and his voice is as charming and solemn as his character Changan. LYT's 失宠 is also so good that I feel so sentimental when I listen to it after the ending of each episode.
- Costumes: Gorgeous costumes! I love all their wardrobes, from Wanmei, Changan and Prince Ning to even the support and guest roles!
- Color palette: I love the vibrant reds, pinks, blues, purples, and of course the blacks and whites!
- Animations: That's so creative of them to use in narrating the events and continuing the flow of the story. I also like the art style – the black and white strokes are so striking and beautiful.
Rating it 9/10 because of few things I'm concerned/confused about:
- Some subplots in the middle to the end of the drama became confusing to me especially about the palace, war and army events. If they could've explained what happened in the end maybe it would make so much more sense to me.
- The Ending! Afaik it's an open ending but I would love and accept it more if they could've filmed an extra episode or a web movie to show us the reunion of Wanmei and Changan. I read the summary of the epilogue written by the author (I saw it in the earlier comments in this page) and I would love to see those scenes onscreen! The drama is already 6+ years so that might be hard to produce, but it would be great if they filmed more scenes now because we can see that LYT, QCX and WD already matured so the time gap would even be more realistic.
I'm 6+ years late to this drama but I'm here now. I have deep emotional attachment to this drama especially Changan-Wanmei's deep affection, sacrifices, and tragic love story so I’m sure it’s a drama that I won’t forget and will always remember.
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Worth your time!
It's a good watch. A familiar story (poor girl who later succeeds) with unusual twists. Among the three leading roles (Wan Mei, Chang An, Gong Zi), the scriptwriter and the director have favored Gong Zi the most. Not only he has the best costumes in the drama, but his character is the most compelling one: good looking, strong will, keep cool in every situation, burning with revenge, superb in strategic thinking, martial arts, music and culture, but fatally sick, secluded, lonely, and generally has a pessimistic view of the world and people. He is the only one in the drama who displays the full range of human emotion: joy, amusement, hate, jealousy, love, passion, despair and rage, This kind of role is usually a gold mine for any serious actor and Wang Duo did rise to the challenge. Since Gong Zi's revenge is the major part of the story, the scriptwriter has reduced the role of Chang An to cooking, fighting, hugging, and longing for Wan Mei. Among these tasks, showing love to Wan Mei is Shaw Qu's weakest point. Without the dialogue, their embrace looks very much like between two siblings. Had the love scenes between the two had half of the desire and passion of Gong Zi's many attempts, their love story would have been more convincing. Li Yi Tong is good at tragic moments, but tends to shout and scream whenever she has to show anger. Sure she can shout, but it has to go with with the equivalent expression on her face. Wan Mei is also a character with contradictions: wants to help unfortunate people, but doesn't want to sacrifice herself/her goal/her life for anyone. In fact, only Cha Luo and Wan Mei are the only two characters who never make any sacrifice.The opening song is very good but is overused throughout the series. Make-up (especially for Gong Zi, the Emperor) is overdone at times. Good martial arts choreography. In history, Gong Zi/ Li Si Yuan eventually became the second king of Later Tang. As such, the ending is appropriate. Although Chang An loves Wan Mei deeply, he actually understands her the least.
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