Amarina

The fact I enjoyed the secondary couples more than the leads sort of annoys me because they way they told the story to fill it up there was just nothing but Wei Yun and his jealous puppy love eyes. I VERY much agree that it felt like there was more chemistry in the scenes with Gu Chusheng and even a few times I thought "Guys both of you just get over her and you two be together" 🤡.

3rd of 3 (so far) of this adaptation. This version has the longest runtime which allows for a "Better Overall" story to be told. Additional plot points flesh the characters out and the FL becomes (almost) an actual person with more character growth beyond letting go of the love of her nominal brother for the love of her new husband. Meanwhile the ML is portrayed 'slightly' less as an insatiable nympho though "slightly" perverted 😅 and obsessed with FL in a more "yandere" way. What intimate scenes are shown are definitely more on the erotic side than the sensual side. The addition of the palace plot to this version make this story feel as though it could possibly become a slightly longer version and become one of the "greats" in my opinion. However, a large negative is the ending which feels as though it had to be shot it an "alternative" way in order to air. This version has additional story for the brother and his concubine and the most "hea" ending for the brother's storyline.

If you're wondering:
Version 1 is the most realistic and most frustrating due to multiple misunderstandings. ML is very much in love with her but is NOT portrayed as a nympho and after the birth control soup scene present in all, they practice abstinence to prevent unwanted pregnancy until she's ready.
Version 2 is the most romantic but also has a rather choppy story that benefits from watching another version.

sent PM

That was personally MY thought but I think what it came down to was 1: he didn't want to be the rule and 2: there was still the issue of her being the previous dynasty where in "theory" her faction could kill HIM and force HER to marry someone to have a "legitimate" claim. I will say that for a lot of the things that did annoy me about this show the actual politics that went into it (until the "Perfect female ruler equality" ending) were rather realistic I thought. And it was because of the realism and the helplessness that went into the factions at play that of course led to all the frustrations when someone is used to HEA "I'm the Emperor I can do whatever I want, dismiss the harem, marry a maid as Empress, kill anyone without repercussions" fantasies.

Sending PM

Definitely this! Though I will say for the first time in IDK how long I just read a book after watching a vertical and liking it but people on weibo complaining about how it was an awful adaptation 🤣 (After reading it I can see why they think that since the book was BEYOND slow burn and the vertical starts out with her sleeping with him)

Oh! It's because the truth WASN'T "out". She was the old dynasty, HE was the current dynasty... so he killed her because the "truth" was out about being the old dynasty but he couldn't let her live and reveal the truth about the boy/girl swap. It's also why he had to die (which I agree was dumb but 🤷‍♀️). The court couldn't have the old dynasty and new dynasty "alive" at the same time; especially with the idea that eventually she was going to reveal that she was a female. At that time in theory any dissidents would have a "valid" case to overthrow her for a "proper" male candidate. One of the reasons, other than her massive support later, for revealing her gender, was that there WAS no other threat to her throne without a full and complete overthrow which wasn't going to happen at that point.

I've had a few people mention the Chen Si version to me but I haven't gotten around to it yet. Sounds like I should push it further up the list 👍

This version is very choppy with editing and even confusing at times but in my mind it's advantage over The Young General's Amnesiac Childhood Sweetheart is that the amnesia aspect doesn't last as long so it doesn't have quite the same feeling that everyone is tricking her as long. Beyond that the backstory of her depression and fall into the water are more fully explored in this adaptation.

I was actually looking this one up myself the other day, it seems to be on the Hongguo app (without English subtitles of course)

Story is all over the place. Inserts an additional male that takes up scene time but seems to serve no true purpose as he's never a candidate for her hand. Best positive is that it uses yet a different ending variation so watching it allowes a completiontionist to 'check a box'.

I felt so bad for Jiang Cheng and Wushuang that watching this actually made me uncomfortable rather than it be an enjoyable watch.

《桃花鞍前挽离情》 - Táo Huā Ān Qián Wǎn Lí Qíng - Peach Blossom Saddle: A Tender Wish for Parting
ML: Zhu Zhiling
FL: Yao Yuchen
June 13 2025
Mu Ping'an, an orphan from the Mu family, fell deeply in love with Prince Zhu Yanci of the Great Chu Dynasty five years ago after saving him. However, Zhu Yanci mistakenly believed Su Wanqing to be her savior, leading to her being neglected in their marriage. To protect her homeland, Mu Ping'an went to war in her brother's place and tragically died on the battlefield. After her death, her soul returned to Zhu Yanci's side, witnessing his deep remorse upon learning the truth. By chance, Mu Ping'an was reincarnated as Princess Nan Shu of the Southern Yue Dynasty. Zhu Yanci traveled to the Southern Yue Dynasty to seek medical treatment for his elder brother, Zhu Hong, and reunited with Nan Shu. Now filled with doubt, Zhu Yanci began secretly investigating Nan Shu's identity.
https://youtu.be/qYL4UD2FaaM
https://youtu.be/wnKSSUBNuvA

The definition of 'passible' the novelty of a modern/gaming-world story kept me watching to the end not the story or the acting.

It's been spoiled that they changed this to a HE due to current market demands per MarcTv

《The night rain in the Jianghu is like a dream》 is a period martial arts drama featuring two male leads. It tells the story of two men who form a bond in childhood, eventually becoming enemies due to opposing stances, and ultimately joining hands to face the storms of the martial arts world. The drama stars Min Xinghan as Ye Yu and Yan Zixian as Jiang Hu. They first meet at "Snowfall Manor" and embark on a journey together in the martial arts world. With our combined strength, what fear is there of the world's bloodshed and turmoil?

out

Fun harem story. One of my favorite aspects is that this doesn't really break the story up into "acts" like many do. Instead plot aspects blend together naturally so that things brought up in the second half and last quarter are plot points which have had threads already planted prior.

Things to note:
ML has a harem in beginning AND end
ML is known to have children with Main Wife; no other children are mentioned; ML sleeping with other Concubine's is never explicitly shown
FL is Concubine throughout and never main wife (in fact she LITERALLY doesn't want to be)
FL gets along VERY well with Main Wife

Highly Recommended and not JUST because of Wang Yuwei bias 😅😻😇

A post on weibo is listing him as 徐嘉良 (Xu Jialiang) but it's not an 'official' post so I can't say it's accurate but if so he also just released a modern one called 《林秘书，结婚许可请盖章》- Secretary Lin, please stamp the marriage license

One of the better Black Lotus styles but still not 'the best'.
FL is rather viscious but second part loses focus on this aspect at times which lowered the enjoyment for me. ML was even MORE ruthless and was a love-brain for the FL which was cute but it would have been nice to have seen more of his 'I'm WORSE than my woman' side.
End is VERY rushed and they went for a voice over resolution for the revenge so they could film a romantic love-brain epilogue rather than a truly satisfying revenge conclusion which most likely would have needed more episodes filmed.