The Great Cao Xuan Xuan (2025)

Cao Xuanxuan’s Love Journey: A Light Step Into Ancient Mystery

🔹 What happens when a modern mystery writer wakes up in an ancient city and must solve cases with the man she is suddenly engaged to?
🔹 Would I rewatch? No.

📕 Overview
🔹 21 episodes, historical romance mystery
🔹 Adapted from an original screenplay
🔹 Zhu Xudan plays Zhou Na, who becomes Cao Xuanxuan after time-slipping
🔹 Zhai Xiaowen portrays Guo Zijie, the young county magistrate working beside her
🔹 The story begins when Zhou Na opens her eyes in ancient Yan City and realizes she is betrothed to Guo Zijie
🔹 As of this review, all 21 episodes have aired
🔹 I genuinely admire the leads; however, the script didn’t give them the opportunity to fully shine, and the writing felt uneven

🌸 How It Felt Watching
🔹 It felt like a show that you can watch while multitasking
🔹 Tone: playful, romantic, mildly suspenseful
🔹 Themes: partnership, problem-solving, trust
🔹 It reminded me of other time-slip romances, but without the intricate puzzle pieces those shows often have

✨ Cast and Acting
🔹 Zhu Xudan as Cao Xuanxuan: has a charming on-screen presence that makes her character engaging to watch.
🔹 Zhai Xiaowen as Guo Zijie: delivers an earnest performance, though it feels inconsistent at times.
🔹 Supporting cast: adds humor and simple charm, even if most roles remain surface-level.
🔹 I’ve enjoyed other dramas featuring the leads, which makes it even more noticeable that they didn’t have the same opportunity to shine here.

🎵 OST 🎵
🔹 Tomorrow Won’t Return by Qin Zi Mo
🔹 Fish in the Pond and Reflection by Lu Yi

🎞️ Production Style
🔹 I believe the script plays a crucial role in a drama’s success; even the most talented cast and crew can only do so much when the writing is limited.
🔹 This drama has a small-budget feel, which may not resonate with everyone.
🔹 The director’s choices reflected what the production could realistically support.
🔹 I genuinely enjoy both leads’ previous work, making it clear they didn’t have the same opportunity to shine here.
🔹 I encourage viewers to take a look and form their own opinions.

☕ Tea Notes
🔹 What worked: the easygoing tone and the enjoyable chemistry
🔹 What didn’t: I felt the detective logic was weak, the acting was uneven, and the production was held back by the script
🔹 I wished the leads had stronger writing to work with

☕ SpillTheDramaTea’s Rating: 4/10
🌿 Tea-Scale: Tried a sip, but it didn’t sit right.
✏️ As SpillTheDramaTea, I was reminded of how much a story depends on strong writing to help talented actors shine.

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Low budget series

I forced myself to watch it. I watched 11 episodes but to no avail. It doesn't work, it doesn't work. Unfortunately, it's very bad. There's no acting. There's no direction. You know, I started out like that when you're a little curious, but the way you look at things, the way they're solved and things like that are all for nothing. It didn't work. Zu Xi Dan is like a boss in the series. He got ahead of the judge. The judge is not a judge. He's like an employee under the boss's command. As far as I know, there is a guard group next to the district judge. They investigate and investigate and eventually it's passed on to the judge, who makes the final decision. The judge is supposedly doing everything here, that is, Cao Xuan, who is in the position of the judge's wife. The girl they took with them first came as a forensic doctor and then turned out to be a warrior. Even the characters don't know what's what. They don't know themselves. It's a series like this. The other male element, Su Wei Yan, plays a double role. They took the man under protection even though they knew and he caused the deaths of several people. This is a crime. Protecting the criminal. And he does the same thing all the time. And they protect him all the time. There's zero credibility either. What are we going to watch about the series? A weird series. There is no cast harmony either. The actors are actors who do not know each other. They are not suitable for the roles. The leading roles are not compatible. They are not equal. They even put a kissing scene. It's a shame for that. That much. I didn't like it. No offense to anyone. It was low-budget. Since you don't have a budget. Don't do it, sir. It didn't work. It didn't work. It didn't work.

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