This review may contain spoilers
One can understand the story by watching only 18 episodes.
"A love story with a sad ending. The acting was good.Without going into much detail, it’s about a girl and a boy. The girl saves the boy, and he falls in love with her. However, a tragedy strikes the girl’s life, and she ends up marrying her sister’s husband to take care of her nephew. The boy can't accept this and does everything he can to win her back. Unfortunately, nothing goes right."
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good story and perfect ML, but ..
the story was really good but it wasn't clear at all, if I didn't read Wetv description I wouldn't understand at all what happened, it was very fast forward ⏩ That I didn't understand many thingseven when they showed scenes, were not so specific is it in the present or past or it is just imagination? I wouldn't know at all!! that annoyed me SM !!
ML was so perfect,and good performance from everyone and Decorations were very good That I didn't felt it was a web drama .
but Worst ending ever .. it's unclear at all, they show main leads relationship in present then in past and many Scenes without telling what time it is!! I was so confused!!!
- and what happened for the FL after Ywan died? and what happened for the emperor?? I didn't get anything
what is this!!!
this drama could be better, if they cared and paid attention for details
actually that's why I hate to watch any web drama, Fr .. maybe this will be the last time I watch a web series
and hope to see ML in full length drama asap, he's really good actor
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Beautifully filmed but left me a bit disappointed
I wanted to title this review "They All Died Unhappily Ever After" I do not fault the acting or production etc, my main problem was with the story. I prefer happy endings, but I am on board with a sad ending if the story warrants it. If you don't like dramas where they all die and no one gets a happy ending then maybe this drama isn't for you. I was interested in it because of the male lead who I have seen in several other dramas and he always gives a good performance. Going in, I had no idea if this would have a happy or sad ending. By the time I got to episode 18, I had my answer. That there were 2 additional episodes after, I thought what could be next? The 2 episodes at the end were like pointless fillers and didn't add anything to the story as most of the events had been explained in previous episodes.Those that deserved to die, died, but too many people that didn't deserve that fate did as well. The cast did a good job with their acting. Li Fei and Patrick Quan were both good as the hero and the bad guy. Patrick Quan is very good at playing good and bad. Li Fei looked stunning as always in traditional costume. I'm rather glad he does a lot of costume drams as he has the look for it.
Story-wise, the ML and FL went through a lot and didn't even get a happy ending. The struggle for power etc as well as both men being in love with the female lead just made it all seem a bit futile in the end. Maybe that is what was trying to be portrayed. As I said before episodes 19 & 20 were pointless except as extra material as the story had already ended at that point.
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Richard Li Fei
Great chemistry between the leads and great kissing scenes. Good production with nice costumes and makeup. Same pairing with FL ming jia jia in seal of love drama. If you like exciting aka sexy scenes and beautiful leads then this is a must watch! Richard Li is so handsome and his aggressive yet tender character as the general and potential heir to the throne is great and oh so sexy. You'll def rewind the key scenes 🤭A must watch!
Spoiler coming....stop scrolling if you dont wanna know
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Sad ending! 😭 but i still dont regret watching it!
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Love, Sacrifice and Misery
This series was awesome. the plot was excellent , the main leads had chemistry. I hope a season 2 comes out. This should have been a longer series though, it would have been awesome to see more of the pair. The Main leads weren't aware they were betrothed by the emperor when they met and fell in love. So they cancellled the engagement of the unknown fiancee to marry the one they love. Other sacrifices and an unrequited love forced them apart. Ultimately, despite their passion,yearning and love ....their loyalty towards the Yu kingdom kept them apart and in the end they couldnt bare this distance.and misery, which pushed them off the edge through sacrifice, tragicallly.Quite bittersweet! Really Really Really want a second season .
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I LOVE IT!
Wow, wow, wow. Standing ovation from me for this drama👏👏👏.Everything is great. Great writing, great plot, great characters, great actors and actresses. I cried. I literally cried at the end. Let me tell you, I was fooled. The drama has 20 episodes, but technically it ends at episode 18. After watching episode 18, I thought to myself, “Oh! That’s okay. There’s 2 episodes left. Maybe they got reborned or something like that and the ending will be happy🥰.” I was wrong:). The 2 last episodes are only the flashback story of when they first met.
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO MEEEEEE. Now I can’t move on from them. Thanks🙂.
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Missing Links.
I guess this drama is supposed to be a dark one filled with tension, considering that it's taking place during a time of war and their country is right in the middle of it. But..The cast, story and even the outfits are decent, however, the story failed to grab my attention. I blame the editing.
Plus, completely skipping the past of the main leads and directly heading for the conflict was a wrong move by whoever planned it because I did not feel emotional at all.
Su Yan was particularly irritating. I don't know why, but she almost seemed slow when time was dire, did not provide proper explanations to Wen Yuan and many of the troubles could've been avoided had she reacted on time.
Don't get me started on the King. He left absolutely no impression on me, even when he was at his most powerful. Pretty sure that Su Yan could've properly handled him, but alas, the story calls.
I would suggest this if you need some "break" and watch some good acting, despite of the story.
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New fan of Li Fei now!!
I started watching this drama because everyone on Stolen Love page was saying that these two dramas were kind of similar so decided to give it a go. I have to say I loved watching Li Fei in this he was pretty much the best thing in this drama. All of his scenes seriously don't disappoint. I would recommend to watch this solely for him alone. His chemistry also with the female lead was amazing and really wished we would of actually got to see more scenes of them together and not just at odds with each other. It actually could of definitely been longer to actually explain some of things in it better.I would have to say for it that its not a bad watch but its also not an absolutely great watch either, but Its only because there just needed to be more to the story. Definitely more to their love story cause it just felt like there wasn't much to it and your just left really wanting more of the two leads. I guess that is my biggest frustration here that you just don't get much of the leads actually together I really just wanted that keep going for a least a little longer then what we got.
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Sizzling hot chemistry!
This drama series has the best chemistry between the ML and FL (Yu Wen Yuan and Su Yan). The ML was yandere and I loved it so much! I wish the drama would have been longer to see character development. I felt it was a bit rushed in terms of the story telling. The ML lead just gave me chills with the way he conveyed so much passion! His eyes were beautiful and spoke volumes without saying a word. Very Good Actor!The FL did a great job showing how distressed she was during the series. Acting was very good.
Disliked: ML could have taken of his class ring during scenes! I'm like this is supposed to be a custom drama! LOL
The emperor's wig was terrible! However, I loved the plot twist with his character in the show! I definitely wasn't expected and unpredictable!
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A little too much
It was good. But the fact that it was mostly about revenge and betrayal made it more a series of hate then love and the super sad ending also made it emotional.The story was also slightly complicated, if only thing would've been a little smoother. Also, it was like three storylines running together, one of each member. But still, it's worth watching.
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A Hit For Very New Fans, A Miss for Me
This wasn’t a major hit for me, though it seemed to be the drama that put Li Fei on the map for many viewers. Patrick Quan delivers an excellent performance as a quietly lethal and unsettling antagonist—you could feel the tension every time he appeared onscreen. And the chemistry between Ming Jiajia and Li Fei was electric, but I was disappointed in how their characters were written. They leaned too heavily into familiar dramatic tropes for me to fully appreciate—she played the naive girl, and he was the emotionally distant lead. The subplots were equally frustrating, often feeling overcomplicated and weighed down by hidden motives and misunderstandings that lasted until the very end. The overall tone felt whimsical and veered far from the source novel, which could be felt onscreen. That said, there were several poignant scenes, and the backstory was genuinely intriguing. If you're looking for steam, it's definitely there—but this one might be best suited for devoted Li Fei fans. So for me and others, it was a must watch.Was this review helpful to you?
The story revolves around a love triangle and power struggle between two men, a Crown Prince (Quan Pei Lun) and his warlord cousin (Richard Li), the Prince of Nanchuan.
Richard Li’s charisma is undeniable. His Yuwen Yuan is an antihero type of character that’s somehow unlikable, infuriating, sexy, and sympathetic all at once — a testament to his acting skills. When he’s reunited with his one-time fiancee, Su Yan, he’s bitter and intent on hurting and humiliating the woman who betrayed him, but in the end finds that he can’t let go of his feelings for her.
Quan Pei Lun also delivers an intense performance as Yuwen Yingren, the Crown Prince (and later Emperor) who married Su Yan and appointed her Empress. His calm demeanor hides a cruel and calculating character and it’s interesting watching his facade crack when things don’t go his way.
The two of them carry the majority of the drama with their compelling portrayals of characters with complex motivations and varying levels of unhinged behavior — their performances are much better than the messy script. Meanwhile, the female lead doesn’t have much of a personality or purpose other than to be caught between the two male leads, although Su Yan has some impactful moments of anger and despair towards the end.
I tend to avoid unhappy endings, but sometimes they work in a Shakespearean tragedy sort of way — as the inevitable outcome of characters’ choices. Rather than “A Tale of Love and Loyalty,” this drama is more like “A Tale of Obsession and Bad Decisions.” The conclusion is tragic, but reflects a quote from the male lead: “The only choice we have is how to die and for whom.”
Overall, this drama is hard to rate. Aside from the unsatisfying ending, it suffers from choppy editing and mixed production values (some decent music, weird filtering on actors’ faces, sets and some costumes look low-budget). But it’s a quick watch (about 5 hours for the whole series), so if you need a dose of angst alongside handsome men with long hair, this might fix your craving.
Note: If you’re watching on Viki, which formats the drama into 10 episodes, make sure to watch ep. 10 first — it’s a prologue.
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