WM

Yeah, they don't rely on man, until they need to be saved over and over again, or helped when getting drunk like an idiot.

People have incredibly low standards for a Female Leads.

I can vouch for "Blossom" and the first season of the "Flourished Peony" (second not so much).

I've tried with many others - watched in disappointment "LOFG" fully (after expecting a totally different Drama based on the Trailer) and dropped Fated Hearts/Shadow Love quickly, as I'm getting really sick and tired of the supposedly "badass female lead" needing to be saved over and over again.

In 2026, the MicroDramas, despite their obvious limitation, offer far more in the storytelling aspect and overall, a much better product.

Regarding ratings - well, we live in a world where overrated trash like "The Double" has a similar rating to "Story of Ming Lan" or "Empresses in the Palace", and the even worse crap of "Legend of the Female General" is just a bit lower.

At least Douban continues to be semi-useful.

In 2026, I'm surprised that anyone is still being surprised about it.
Only MicroDramas offer a bit of getaway from this Trope.

Except of "Veil of Vengeance", literally every Drama with a supposedly "badass female lead" makes me think how did she survive in the field before meeting the ML, since she needs to be saved/cared for all the time.

Literally half a year later, I'm still stuck at Episode 7th.
Still hoping to complete it one day, but in the meantime, I've watched dozens of MicroDramas that I've enjoyed more.
However, it remains almost impossible to find a more beautiful actress than Wang Chu Ran.

I always wonder the same about all kinds of supposedly "badass female leads", when the ML is saving them over and over again during the Dramas storyline,

There is a 3rd version of it too:

《纨绔疯郡主得宠日常》The Daily Life of a Spoiled and Mad Princess in Favor
ML: Xu Hao Xiang 徐浩翔
FL: Zhou Jia Yi 周嘉怡
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7uzyna2nJk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHTPRo5s04k

I actually consider the Zhao Huinan version the worst one and the one with Wang Xiao Yi the best among three.

It seems that in recent days this Drama uploads were heavily purged against - with only 2 remaining from the above links.

For example, all the ones I had in my Playlist are gone, including those from popular sources like Dramabreak or Sarah Sweet Drama.

I can confirm that 3rd version exists and it was my favourite one, even if the ones having Mi QI and Guan Xin as the FLs were good too.

The third version got deleted last week from this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPm3mIXv93M

OMG, what a difficult choice you gave me:
- in the red corner: Men's harem and system nonsense
- in the blue corner: Female Emperor and Ma Qiuyuan as the FL

True, but this one had the FL as a ruler for a big part of the Drama, which is quite rare.

Zhi Chunhe currently has 4 unreleased Dramas listed on Douban, and neither of them is the Part 3 of Lu Songli's Adventure :(

However, I highly recommend this one, where she is portraying a similar-level Female Lead with great fighting skills on top of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXX-Xl-y9LY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXX-Xl-y9LY

Zhi Chunhe has a new Drama with the FL badassery approaching Lu Songli's territory.

Also, it seems to be based on the Novel titled "From Sacrifice to Empress"

You can read it fully here, it's only 55 chapters + some extras - https://m.bgnovel.com/gudaixiaoshuo/22141_0.html

Good read, although slightly different from the Drama. For example, the FL is extremely ruthless to herself and her opponents.

Thank you for the info and links.

Zhi Chunhe once again (after starring in "Lu Songli Adventures") portrays an extremely capable Female Lead.

Even Romance wasn't an automatic Fast Forward for me (but of course, messed up things a few times).

It's kind of funny that you recommended me a Drama with one of the most disliked actors by me, especially when playing Emperors.

The FL is played by possibly one of the prettiest and most popular Vertical Drama actresses still without MDL's profile - 汪巧 aka Wang Qiao.

The FL is played by possibly one of the prettiest and most popular Vertical Drama actresses still without MDL's profile - 汪巧 aka Wang Qiao.

You're welcome.

Also, this - https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9f14fs
I think subtitles are better here, but the screen is a bit obstructed.

Regarding "Crown of Shadows" - look for "黑莲花上位手册".
Interesting fact, it's actually rated at Douban and quite high, at 6.3
You can watch it here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTXaumd8h4M

Regarding other Dramas - will take a look at Calculated Fortune.

Also, not sure if you are familiar with Wei Fan Shu - I left info on two Dramas with her in the comments section, but I can be biased, as I find her extremely beautiful.

Well, she went into the Harem, so its unavoidable, I don't really have problem with it.

The bigger issue for me was overall flatness - for example, I rate " Crown of Shadows" much higher, even without proper ending.