absurd

Yes, the Yaoji part is just priceless. Zhaixing thinking she's nice is such a stretch... But with Emperor too. Obviously, she would not assume he's an evil murderer, but after how he tricked her into a marriage with Bo Wang, how can she trust him so much? It's very obvious that he looks after his own interests first.

I think people say she's smart because she actually was, at first. The drama presented her as a quick witted and logical person. As in, she solved the murder case and was acting pretty cool in the beginning. She was also very resourceful with Bao Na princess.
And now suddenly she's all clueless, naive and can't see what is right in front of her nose. Kind feels like they're just bending the character according to where they want the plot to go, instead of building the character.

Chinese dramas have a limit of 40 eps for TV broadcast as of this year, if the drama is more than that it can only be aired online. That's most likely the reason. If it's popular they'll make the second season

There are as many opinions as there are people. I like it, you like it. Some people don't or maybe prefer something different. Nothing wrong with that.

I have to disagree on that, disliking the character does not automatically translate to disliking the drama. It could also mean that that character is portrayed well enough to invoke emotions, which is good.
I am also one the people who doesn't particularly like Bo Wang, but I do like the drama so far.
It has not finished airing yet and for free there are only 14 episodes available (2 of them just today), so a lot of people rating the drama are ether the ones who galloped through unsubbed version, dropped it or have not seen the whole thing yet. Wait until it finishes airing, then the viewers who prefer to finish before rating will rate.

It does make me want to skip ahead to see what's going on without subs. So maybe I should have waited too. But... to impatient :)

I would say it's good. It has a lot of flaws, but the overall impression (I'm on ep 20 so far) is that it's interesting and I want to see more. But I also got interested around episode 6, so maybe you and I have a different preference. It feels like the storyline goes up and down in terms of how much thought was put into it and I don't really feel it when the main focus is the romance, but aside from that it keeps me invested.

For free 2 eps every Thursday to Saturday. Viki releases 2 eps every day for those who have a pass

I didn't actually think about his subordinates. You make a very god point. The whole set up kind makes the romance and comedic part of their relationship feel unrealistic.
Ma Zhai Xing being stuck in the past actually makes it more believable for me, as in: she's an idiot in love. It's not nice to look at, but kinda works. Bo's behavior on the other hand... just defeats all logic and common sense.
I feel like it would have been much better to drag out the "he's nice but keeping secrets" scenario until she finds out the truth of her father's death (he could have told the Emperor that he's playing the loving husband to make her trust him). Would have kept the suspense and the drama, avoiding unnecessary back and forth.

I agree, the Emperor is one of the most interesting characters. He obviously loves his sons, but it's not enough to stop his manipulations. He is a very real and complicated man

Yes, since apparently they just assume that the emperor will know, why not? The whole situation is absurd. If the Ma Jing hadn't left the shadow puppets out and didn't run her mouth, Chu Kui would have no idea what actually happened. They could have used ANY excuse for their absence. Or... imagine that... returned home immediately to avoid suspicion, since Kuizhou is apparently a just a short walk away from the capital (which is another plot gap that bugs me).
No one's arguing that emperor sees people around him as tools to achieve his purposes. That has nothing to do with the fact that screenwriters didn't even bother to come up with a decent reasoning for characters behavior.

Also the whole situation is just absurd. She found out the he is the Wolf boy and they immediately assume that emperor will know and punish them. Ugh... why? He did actually find out, but it was an accident, they could not have predicted that.

WTF????!!!! Bo Wang was all but stomping her into the dirt for apparently "very good reasons TM" and after she proves he is her Wolf boy all those reasons just... disappear??? I am sorry, but what the actual ****??? I was all but barfing at the sweet scenes between Bo Wang and Zhai Xing in eps 19-20. Just... no words for it. Screenwriters of this drama are a goddamn disaster. The love story part of the plot goes back and forth like the cheapest, most cliché soap opera I've ever seen. And they couldn't even come up with good explanations for it for what is happening. This is something that usually happens in the last seasons of tv shows, when the ratings are dying and creators are desperate to last a little bit more.
Also Ji Chong's monologue was so baaad, I actually felt second-hand embarrassment listening to him.

So, I have finished episode 20... spoilers under the tag

I do agree with you about "abusive ml", but I do think it gets better, judging by the very spoilery opening credits. I don't actually know :) Only seen 16 eps so far, but I get the sense that the plot will take a turn again soon.

You know, I get it, maybe he didn't actually have an intention (though, to me it didn't look like that). But. And to me this is a big But. There is such thing as too far. That and the public humiliation - that was too far. What he can't talk? Everything he said to her at the end of this scene, he could have said without forcing himself on her. Sure she was kind of obtuse, but she was still obtuse even after the "scene" and only got it through her head after he clearly said that he doesn't care.
And also, I think it was ep 15, not 11.

About Prince Bo. I get that he is trying to distance himself from Zhai Xing, but does he have to go that far?? What he can't let her die, but public humiliation and depression are fine? What kind of bs love is that? He was the one who encouraged those three idiots at the banquet and then he punished them for doing what he wanted. What a hypocrite.
And what, pray tell, was he thinking before when he got close to her? Just "kind of forgot" that he was lying to her about her family massacre and manipulating her for the sake of politics?
Oops, sorry, that was a rant. Ep 15 just made me so mad. I just really dislike those typical plot twists of "keep her safe, but miserable".

On episode 16 so far (no spoilers, promise!). This drama is actually really interesting. For those who don't much care about the love story, give it until episode 5 or 6, the plot thickens and gets more intriguing. They do go back and forth from love to politics, but it's balanced in my opinion.
As for the characters:
I don't really like Prince Bo as a character as of ep 16. His motivation is kind of unclear (to me), hopefully it will get better later. Can't really explain without spoilers, so maybe I'll add it under the spoiler tag.
Ji Chong is a classic "bad boy" trope, not much else to it so far. But it's a good trope, always works on me )))
Ma Zhai Xing though, her character kind of gives me a whiplash, it goes so rapidly between "spoilt princess", "damsel in distress" and "smart independent woman", I can't keep up. I am torn between liking her a lot and trying really hard not to facepalm sometimes.

The funny thing is, last week I stumbled over the pictures from this drama and thought: damn, it's too bad that this will probably never be released, I really want to watch it because it looks like they've actually put a lot of work and thought into it. And then it's out Just. Like. THIS! I'd say the best surprise ever!

Stop posting spoilers people! After more than 3 years it's not that difficult to wait 3-4 weeks for official release and subs