WM

This is the link - https://kisskh.at/797412-huan-qin-hou-wo-shun-bian-huan-le-jiang-shan-hen-he-li-ba

You can also check FL-centric Micro Dramas on my Playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL07cQXP6zFrZTavwmT5YLL3CpmMKNHJlP (the above Drama is first-second on the list - two different subs versions)

Well, "ROFS" has a better ending, for once, and even if He Yan's highs weren't as high as Ren Xin, she at least didn't think about getting pregnant during the most important mission of her life.
Which was one of the stupidest things done by the supposedly smart/capable FL, I've ever seen in a Drama.

"AJTL" kills the "ROFS" in production quality, editing, music (even if the latter isn't bad here either).

Both have very disappointing villains, so it's a tie, I guess, in that category.

Also, both FLs were saved so many times by the MLs to push the Romance, that I struggled to think how both survived until now without MLs in sight. So another tie.

I find it very difficult to find anything interesting in 2025 - I somehow finished "ROFS" (but pretty much already forgot it and it has zero re-watch value for me), but dropped Shadow Love after a few episodes.

There are a few upcoming dramas that look intriguing, but I don't have high expectations these days.

The only two recent (2024-25) Big Damas I really enjoyed were "Blossom" and "Flourished Peony" (but only Season 1).

I've had high expectations of "Are you the One?", but I'm stuck at Episode 10, as it's extremely boring, and even Wan Chu Ran's beauty doesn't help anymore.

These days, I enjoy Vertical/Micro Dramas more, if you know what you are looking for (I like Dramas with strong/capable/smart FLs, unlike watered-down versions from Big Productions) you can find enough stuff to watch. And quality continues getting better.

For example, Lu Songli from " After Changing the Marriage, It's Reasonable for Me to Change the Country" pretty much ruined other so-called "Smart Female Leads" for me.

I know it's an old post, but as I was actually looking into watching it based on YT clips, I seriously dislike dumb FLs. So, now I'm not sure ;(

This one is really, really good, definitely one of my favourite Revenge Harem Dramas. Chang Dan Dan is not only beautiful, but extremely smart, capable and ruthless on her Revenge track, but two main villainesses are really smart and they don't make it easy for her. Highly recommended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4biGT53l8xc - this version seems to have the best subtitles.

At least, it would have to be - Exile + Rebellion in Part 2 and winning the war vs Song Dynasty and Xianbei Barbarians (economical and military) in Part 3.

But it still would be difficult, as their Exile was quite an adventure and there were also many events leading to the Rebellion.

Btw, if you want to watch another Drama with an all-around capable/badass FL who rules the country, you can try this one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R576uexlQ-M&lc=

I came here to post this one :)

Very good Drama, with a rare Female Ruler taking over the Court early and fighting various forces to establish herself. The FL is a total badass, with a great combination of scheming, calculating opponents and fighting.

Even the ML/Romance isn't too bad.

Thank you for this tremendous post, I've learnt a lot of business aspect here, very interesting stuff.

Pretty badass FL, but poor subtitles (in the ones I found) and horrible, effeminate looking ML make it an average watch at best.

I didn't see this one listed until now (at least based on her character's name listed in the Drama section) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDzgrVjvP8k

Pretty good Revenge Drama, even if the FL's impact weakened in the final act of it because of the F'n Romance.

From Verticacl Drama world:
"Rise of the Reborn Queen" aka "She was framed by fiancé and spent a night with bandits but was spoiled by the regent"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hh9j9Ap8YFc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKt-u7t9qVQ
"She Rose From Ashes, With Him as Her Blade_aka_烬花辞"

Pretty good, if someone is a fan of strong, general-like Female Leads. For once, the FL is even stronger than the ML (but only by a bit, as he's a very powerful Regent himself).

Thank you for the link, very interesting read. I am not surprised that Zhao Lying is her favourite actress - I can see some similarities in their look, as well as the characters they are portraying when acting.

However, the most important info was not something regarding Ma Qiu Yuan, but the fact that Micro Dramas take 7-10 days to film. I wonder, how long it take from the completed filming through post production, legal stuff, etc... to broadcasting?

She looks very pretty, and her acting is decent enough in - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvNyo0uE4FQ

Based on a Novel "A Concubine’s Competitive Life in the Prince’s Household" - she is a successful businesswoman in modern times, who travels back in time and thrives inside the Harem, using various scheming tricks, business-like or not.

Pretty powerful FL, maybe not on Lu Songli's level (but no one is), but still very capable.

In short, it will take her 7 (maybe less?) years to return to the capital after defeating all the enemies and start a new dynasty as the Emperor/Female Ruler, which she will hold for 25 years, before abdicating and making way for her daughter. However, the "New Dynasty" isn't a significant part of the Novel; the road to achieving it spans 95% of the chapters.

She will do some brilliant and then, more brilliant stuff in the meantime (economics, scientific innovations and wars, with the Qin family of course being the major help with the latter), including persuading a lot of talented people to help them (or just her) to achieve it.

And if you like Romance, the ML will be in total love with the FL. She will love him too, just conquering the world pushes down Romance, Sex and all the stuff from this category on the importance list :)
No triangles, no misunderstandings, etc...

In summary - Lu Songli is the most capable FL I've seen/read during my (maybe not so long, but quite intense) C-Dramaland exposure.

After watching a few more Dramas with her and seeing her upcoming work in bigger productions, I'm thinking that she fits the great quote (not sure about the source) of "Talent is like Pregnancy. You can hide it for a while, but it will be visible to the world sooner or later".

I really hope Ma Qiu Yuan will make it big in C-Drama land.

I'm very late, but thank you for the link - never seen this one until now and it was a great watch. It's so nice to find an FL-centric non-rebirth/non-transmigration Drama without Romance and with a great ending :)

And Ma Qiu Yuan was spectacular in this.

For example, Fanmtl has it. You can also use a website translation and read it off the Chinese version, it's pretty comparable (Chinese version has a different and much darker Chapter 520, plus some extra chapters with weird modern storyline).

I didn't watch PG (Princess Gambit?), so difficult to make comparison. I don't find the FL in the "Blossom" particularly witty, but she is definitely smart, calm, cunning, with a very good decision making and overall extremely capable all around.

Another small tidbit - Chapter 520 is entirely different between the original Chinese version I've read (using a website translator, of course) and the Fanmtl version.
And the original version provides one more example of the FL's brilliant and ruthless decision-making.