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Everything about it feels completely unnatural. This is a truly awful adaptation of the novel.
If they were going to change this much, they might as well have given it a new title and written an original plot from scratch.In the historical context of that era, a woman couldn't just remain stuck in fiancé limbo for five years, leaving the man free to set the wedding date whenever he felt like it. Unless they were observing a mourning period, the marriage should have taken place as soon as possible after the betrothal. A woman in that position—where a man freely comes and goes from her home the way the male lead does—would face extreme vulnerability if he were to die. She would have zero protection. All properties and businesses would be claimed by male relatives of the clan. In her case, she has no such backing because she forged a new identity as a woman from the Xie clan [ her mother's clan ], which essentially makes her shop an illegal, unregistered business or can registered only by Xie's man and belongs to them.
This makes the male lead look utterly selfish. He only cares about pursuing his ambitions and climbing the career ladder, without giving a thought to what would happen to the woman he loves if his high-risk work got him killed.
Furthermore, the female lead pulling strings to secure an official post for her sister-in-law's brother just to help him is completely out of line. They aren't even married yet, and he never asked for her interference. Doing that merely as his lover is a massive overstep.
When adapting the script, they clearly wanted to delay the wedding and pile on obstacles just to force a "slow-burn" romance. But instead of being satisfying, it opened up glaring plot holes, ruined the core personalities of both leads, and completely disregarded the historical setting.
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The bad ending is its only flaw.
While watching, I didn't quite understand the rule about dying four times leading to permanent death. Didn't both the male and female leads die only three times each? And if it really was permanent death, who was revived with amnesia for the female lead to trigger their memories? I'm confused about this part.The drama did a great job balancing the screen time between the male and female leads equally. It's just a pity that the male lead played a bit too much of a follower role, and there were too few sweet scenes. That's all.
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This review may contain spoilers
I’m writing this to give high praise to Fan Shuai qi and Dong Zi fan.
Both gave phenomenal performances, and the script complemented them wonderfully. The audience absolutely adores these two characters.At first, I started watching and got hooked because I loved the Crown Prince (He Yu)—he’s a charming, roguish, and lovable character.
Then, I became utterly captivated by Shizi Bu (Bu Shulin). She’s handsome, playful, and acts like an unruly playboy, seemingly causing mischief everywhere without causing real harm—just petty antics. She’s brilliant at investigations and martial arts, though not much of a strategist. Unless you’re the guy on the receiving end of her punches, any woman on the receiving end of her flirting—like that hand-holding scene—would undoubtedly fall for her. Initially, she probably just looked after Cui Jinbai as an investigative partner, but gradually, her feminine side slipped out in front of him—through her tone of voice, her gaze, and her gestures. I’m certain A-Lin let her guard down, but strictly around the two people she truly loves and holds close: Deputy Cui and Xi He. Her demeanor shifted subtly, and later on, when she appeared as a woman, she was utterly adorable. My only slight regret is that her female look didn’t feel quite as cool as her natural charisma. Having read the novel, that’s how I interpret it. Bu Shulin is someone who is sharp-tongued but soft-hearted. She loves Cui Jinbai deeply and can never keep up with him because he’s shrewd, a master schemer, and a lower skilled martial artist comparing to her. While Cui Jinbai can’t beat his wife in a fight, he certainly won her heart with his schemes.
The third person I fell in love with in this drama is Cui Jinbai. I loved how he transformed from being stern, glaring at Bu Shulin with disdain and reprimanding eyes, and rolling his eyes in sheer disbelief, to showing pure devotion, protection, and sweet tenderness in his gaze. What I loved most were his schemes to bring A-Lin to him: arranging for Wang Sanlang from her gang to work with him just so she would visit, issuing an arrest warrant, tricking her into eating the food he brought, finding excuses to enter the Bu Manor, confessing his feelings, caring for and protecting her, rushing to her rescue, the breakup scene, and the moment he asked to go along with her. Every single shot was executed so well and looked so endearing.
Rewatching it several times, I noticed the meticulous attention to detail in their styling, makeup, hair, height, and footwear (both wore height-increasing shoes), as well as their body language—how they sit, stand, and walk. Bu Shulin has her signature way of sitting, while Cui Jinbai always kneels upright with a straight back. The farewell scene in the pavilion was hilarious because Cui Jinbai was kneeling formally, while Bu Shulin was sitting with her legs spread wide, resting her arms on her knees like a total dude. It looked so funny, and Deputy Cui seemed so delightfully whipped! It painted a vivid picture of what their future married life will look like. Thank goodness Deputy Cui never gave up. In the end, their two sons helped turn things around; if she hadn’t become pregnant to shift the momentum, she probably would have kept acting cold and breaking his heart over and over. Deputy Cui truly got lucky.
Meng Ziyi (Xi He) also delivered a great performance; I just personally wasn’t fond of the female lead’s characterization. While not entirely heartless, she felt rather cold and detached.
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It has the feel of five short interconnected tales strung together; it is really enjoyable.
If you have watched Justice Bao, you will be familiar with this kind of style: the same recurring cast featured in loosely connected arcs, driven by themes that honor moral virtue and family values.I especially liked the stories of the eldest and youngest sons-in-law.
In the eldest son-in-law's arc, the wife had every right to be furious. A husband and wife are meant to share both joys and sorrows, yet he walked into a life-or-death situation without telling her. He showed filial piety toward his mother, but was downright cruel to his wife. This story delivers a great slap in the face to patriarchal society by having him sue his father for his mother's sake. The actor gave a solid performance, though he was a bit too skinny.
In the youngest son-in-law's arc, even though the lesson was harsh, it served as both restitution and a valuable reality check. One month would have been far too short, but one year was just right to truly test patience, virtue, and goodwill. The actor, Winwin, delivered a very charming and endearing performance.
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