I was rooting for SML ..
This drama was honestly such a delightful surprise. With Li Jiu Lin and Fang Tong as leads, i was expecting a good entertainment, and thankfully, the writer also remain committed .... The story has a bit of everything ~~ action, romance, comedy, suspense, even a sprinkle of mystery.... and it’s all paced really well. Nothing drags for too long except the main conspiracy, which BTW stays interesting till the end. There are a few loopholes in the case-solving parts where some dots just… don’t connect, but it’s easy to overlook because the rest flows so smoothlyyyyy..Now, about the cast ~ Fang Tong and Jiu Lin were not the pairing I expected to work I mean never in my eldest dreams had I imagined them working together, yet they pulled it off beautifully. Their chemistry wasn’t ..... Ummmm!!! EXPLOSIVE ..., but their performances felt real,seasoned and grounded. Still, I can’t lie , the second male lead totally stole my heart 🫶. He was charming, funny, caring, and loyal, with the perfect mix of softness and strength.... And most importantly FL seems more like herself when she is around him.. huhhhhh!! Her choice definitely disappointed me.... the SML deserved that win for once!
As for the BGM is kinda unique, for sure, though not everyone’s cup of tea.
Overall, it’s a light, engaging drama that leaves you smiling by the end. What else can you ask for ... !!!
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Honestly? This was the closest that I’ve ever seen a Cdrama get to an actual, honest to gosh threesome. I mean, certainly, all of the scenes where the two generals ended up in one bed together and cuddling where played up for the laughs but considering the requirements of censorship in China, I do think that they did the utmost to imply that, yeah, if the filmmakers were allowed? Them three would be an item.This was a comedy drama. But as much as I love comedy, this was too much even for me. It bordered on parody so even those moments that were supposed to be taken seriously, I simply could not do that. Which is too bad because the main story of the two generals from opposing sites becoming good friends - at the very least - was quite an interesting one!
Best scene in the whole drama? The one where the main heroine and her husband, the general of the South Kingdom, helped their lover… err, best friend, the general of the North Kingdom, escape under the noses of both sides’ spies. That was just awesome. That they went that far and that he trusted them not to betray him.
I’m not using their names because a) I don’t want to spoil it too much and b) their names changed and then changed again so many times that it was hard to keep them straight.
So, yeah. The idea was great. The execution was… lacking. Though I still do hope that they will make S2, as implied at the very end.
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Tasteful to the end.
Nice light hearted comedy. I liked this period drama very much The producer didn't overstretch the story with too many episodes. Sometimes drama are stretched thin with too many subplots added and same comedy are repeated over and over again and the whole things becomes distasteful near the ending and you would skip some portions to finish in order not to fall asleep. This drama still tasty right to the end. Perhaps even hoping for a second series. And I hoping for a second series without a change of casts.Was this review helpful to you?
Weird Editing
I'm surprised I actually finished watching this one.Plot is non-existent. Editing is weird. Some scenes felt out of place or something about the sequencing of scenes felt off. So it didn't help with the progress of the plot, whatever that was. Haha
I felt no chemistry between the 2 leads. It seems so forced. It didn't help that ML's expression is so stiff.
Better chemistry between FL and ML2 . Their interactions seems more natural.
*He looks good with the serious look, though the character's mood changes made me dizzy as the editing did. lol
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IT DESERVES BETTER RATING THAT WHAT'S BEEN GIVEN
Yes, there are parts that feels too rushed or too forced in the plot but it's a surprisingly engaging and funny series. The short amount of episodes allows it to be easily rewatchable if you needed serotonin boost.It's all in all a happy, lighthearted, and cute drama with beautiful actors and actresses who played their roles well.
-SPOILER AHEAD-
The confession part by the river sounds a bit too rushed and forced, but why would I complain? It's a 16 episodes long drama after all.
I appreciate the attempt to redirect Jing's attention from Xianxun to Tingxiao. But other than Tingxiao being handsome and subtly caring, he hasn't really been "all out" and "out there" in expressing his "love" for Jing'er. I just wish they paid more attention to the progress of romance between the male and female lead instead of making people fall for the second male lead(my heart still aches for him). And when Tingxiao said "I'm not really Lu Tingxiao" girl just said "aight" without asking who he really was and had a whole "i don't like being cheated and lied to" speech.
Bit of a lazy writing but I'll forgive because it's still overall funny and nothing too heavy.
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Absolute Gem
This is an absolute gem of a show.Pro's: The acting is amazing,
The story is actually really good.
AND DANG it is full of sweet spicy moments.
Fantastic FL she is daring, independent, no wilting flower and she stays consistent throughout the series in being smart, kind as well as true to character. I loved that.
In my opinion there are two main ML leads, and they are both just charming. Of course there is the ONE main love in the end but hey, the episodes with the two guys - OMGosh - the re-watch value on just those episodes, the chemistry between all three actors - You can not get better than this.
The OST - It's kind of cute too. It fits.
Con's: Whoever edited this wonderful show should be blacklisted. I mean really. Take a gem and cut it up to almost un-watchable. Make it so confusing, that I had to find someone who did a play by play synopsis to piece together a few of the episodes. And a few times, the addition of filters - OH GEESH. Editing nightmare. Just because you CAN does not mean you SHOULD. LOL
Moreover, you can easily tell ALOT was cut out of this show. Edited down and condensed.
The reason I think this: The story did not feel rushed to me but just ....... well, all of the sudden - CUT. This drama must have been, at least originally, a good 30 to 36 episodes (my speculation), but for some reason it aired with only 16 episodes. AND each episode was reduced down to play ONLY 30 minutes in length. However, when comparing drama's of the same type, an episode is normally a good 45 minutes at least.
These cuts had no transition, no explanation, and resulted in huge gaps within the story AND timeline. Things were just "missing" that you could clearly tell SHOULD have, or originally WERE in the story by the half told or start of a story line that well just ...ended and left you wondering what?
It is rather like the train wreck of an introduction that they gave for this cute drama. NOT EVEN close to what the drama is about. It makes me wonder if someone WANTED to ruin or downgrade this show.
Therefore, I highly recommend this cute drama. Get ready to just have a FUN time. Enjoy it for the GEM it is. Just ignore the MASSACARE of an editing job, I did, in fact it made it even more unique.
Someday, maybe a full length UNCUT version will make it's way to drama land. I would be one of the first to sign up for that.
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Fantastic series with a weak story
I got too invested in this show to the point of having too many things I want to write about after finishing it, but I just don't know where to begin.First off, I don't like the Chinese short web series because I haven't seen any good ones, basically all of them have messy stories with a billion plot holes and messy scripts, (sadly this too is included) but I've recently watched "heiress reborn" and I loved it so much so I gave my sweet CFT another shot with this web series and I'm glad I did.
I've to admit first, the story is shit!! I was lost all the time, we have conspiracies, women kidnapping, divorce journeys, rescuing missions and a search for an antidote for an incurable poison.
So basically I was watching with the mentality of, surprise me!!!!
" ok so what are we doing today in this ep? Oh, rescuing a kidnapped woman? Alright, oh the FL is trying to help some woman and that woman gave her a love potion, so we are searching for a crazy doctor? Ok, that's what we are going to do now I guess"
Another thing is shit, the way they gave us a SML syndrome, İNTENTİONALLY mind you, cause that can't be unintentional, the first half we got a FL sticking to the sml all the time, with him all lovey dovey with her and his eye literally throwing hearts at her, and let's be honest, it's CFT, who wouldn't fall for her!! I mean just look at her!! No one is immune!! But then, he isn't the ML, so half way through, enters the mostly broody and all sexy ML, so yeah she always goes back to the one she is meant to be with, and they look great together so it's a win either way, but it made the whole thing looks fake, like why did she choose the ML if all the time she is with the SML and they literally get along and fit together and all is good, like why ?? The ML saves her?? The SML did that too, they spent a lot of time together?? So does she with the SML, so there is nothing that pulls her towards the ML except that this is what the director orders them to do lol
Now aside from that, everything else is fantastic!!! Chemistry everyone is a pleasure to watch, even the side characters, this show is very unskippable, except maybe the conspiracy part, but because it doesn't make any sense tbh, more than anything.
The trio, ML, FL, and SML ... Ohhh those mofos!!! They are the best, I've never thought I'd laugh and enjoy my time like that watching these three together, and the parts where they got stuck together with this weird plant!! My god it was amazing, not to mention the parts where they got drunk, the two male leads are amazing together, they give siblings animosity vibes and I love it!!
I have to praise CFT cause I believe she was the one carrying the show, yes everyone was great but she just shines like the brightest star ever.
Highly recommended, if you just enjoy the crazy trio and ignore the story, cause it's really worth it despite everything ~~
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A lot going for it!
Cute, flirty, interesting plot, great cast. I truly did not see that ending coming. Are they planning a sequel or leaving things vague to let us imagine the outcome?Was this review helpful to you?
Seriously ridiculous, love it
Surprisingly engaging. More comedy than romance. I had a great laugh binge-watching this. Even the supposedly serious parts are ridiculous. I was cackling through the final showdown and a rubber snake!The pacing and editing is everywhere. It was hard to grasp who is who and what their missions were, or rather it was easy to miss. I could not tell who the missing persons poster was supposed to be until they found her!!! With so many secret identities/swaps they could have done much better reveals. I guess if you were watching live, there could be some mystery over who is ML and who is 2ML or at least they tried but it's kinda obvious.
The romance is not that deep or moving but the bickering, flirting and FL's lusting is humorous. She gets to take advantage of the MLs often. Resolution of love triangle was unconvincing (FL making her choice). SLS potential.
A fair bit of slapstick violence. I found myself thinking it was unnecessary or wondering sometimes if it was supposed to be funny.
Overall, funny antics and good looking leads.
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Hmmm.....
Interestingly cute drama, not a very exciting storyline. However, if you are interested in light and easy entertainment, this could be the show for you to watch. Two people drawn into an arranged marriage without the female lead (Rong Er) knowing who the groom is. In line with her predicament and intention of divorcing the groom, General Yin Sishen, she then runs off to another city to set up a match-making company in Boqing Inn which provides for investigation into messy marriages followed by divorce arrangements. Her husband General Yin Sishen follows suit, under the guise of Lu Ting Xiao.In this journey, another friend by the name of Fang Xian Xun also appears in Rong Er's life, fancies her and becomes suitor for her heart, to the angst of Lu Ting Xiao (husband General Yin).
The marriage cases and the mystery behind Fang Xian Xun did not manage to hold my attention throughout, but what kept me watching was the delectable chemistry between Rong Er and General Yin (Jing and Lu Ting Xiao). Really good and the kissing scenes made their characters look so comfortable and in love. One of the nicest chemistry in a Chinese period costume drama.
The ending suggests a part two in the horizons.
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The suspense was killling me
This series was super engaging. FL was set to marry a general she never met. She is a strong mind-independent individual. She runs away from home and set up her own "divorce office" in the guise of a match-making office. She encounters two males who help her along the way. Throughout the entire time, the series keeps you guessing as to who the ML. Unfortunately, I was disappointed, I really was rooting for the second lead.Toward the end when both ML and FL were getting together the storyline and the pace just slowed down. Because of that, I felt there were just fillers thrown in to make the series longer than it should be. I forward through a lot so I know a missed a lot of details. Due to that reason, my rating for this was a bit low. I give it a 7/10 and rewatch value is probably at 3/10
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Engrossed by this tale of 3 individuals
I've been enjoying Cheng Yu Feng's dramas these past weeks (Yes, Her Majesty, A Lucid Dream, Enslaved by Love) and have watched Chen Fang Tong in Maid's Revenge. I am familiar with Li Jiu Lin because of Circle of Love (not sure if I'll watch this mini drama) so on a Sunday evening, I decided to watch this series. Love it!What I liked:
1. Ye Rong Er / Wen Ren Jing characterisation - I love that she is ambitious about life. Even though she has money and "somewhat" easy life, she decided that being "someone's wife" isn't her thing and decided to work on herself. I also like her being straight forward and is unfazed by other people's views of her. Her character grew as series progressed - Wen Ren Jing realised that her actions had implications on other people and she was sincerely sorry for the effects she had caused. Chen Fang Tong managed to balance the sassy and soft sides of Wen Ren Jing.
2. Lu Ting Xiao / Yin Si Shen characterisation - He started off as a mysterious courtesan who took on the role of Bai Qing Hall director and then proceeded to woo female lead Wen Ren Jing. I like that Lu Ting Xiao was clear thinking when it comes to work and personal matters. It's nice to see Li Jiu Lin in a green flag role. With the wig, he gave me Henry Cavill vibes.
3. Fang Xian Xun / Lin Xie characterisation - Another mysterious character with a great development especially towards the end. It's great that Fang Xian Xun has opposite personality from Lu Ting Xiao. He is cheeky and readily smiles while his love rival is intense and brooding.
4. Writing - Decreed by Fate has a great combination of drama, action, comedy in this short 16 episode series. I particularly love the plot twist involving Fang Xian Xun's background and the cliffhanger ending. Thank you for writing a great female sidekick!
5. Pacing - Well done to director for great editing. I love the pacing of this story. Compact & concise storytelling within 16 episodes.
6. Supporting characters - I love Wen Ren Ling. Liu Zhan, Zheng Lin. Even Mr & Mrs Yin left a good impression despite the short amount of screentime.
7. The romance - This series has great scenes with romantic tension. Tease of a ménage à trois! I believe that Wen Ren Jing chose the right person to be her life partner.
What I disliked:
1. The kingdoms - Just a small comment. Although it's revealed, I'd like to know what cause the rivalry between North and South Kingdom. Is West Kingdom neutral? Where is the capital located?
Favourite scene:
When Wen Ren Jing, Lu Ting Xiao and Fang Xian Xun were bound by the vine.
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