Kasia Krakowianka

Finally, a story with real people and not caricatures!

Gong Suo Jin Zhi hit my IQIYI as Love and Strife out of nowhere. Relatively unknown actors but OMG! this is finally an adult production where there are no females who act like 5th graders, no villains who roll their eyes or grind their teeth. The script was solid, even if the story was not that innovative the characters were written with care and consistently put out the same vibe and logic. The director had done a really good job making it an even paced, low key, but interesting drama with good chemistry between the leads and interesting relationships between 2 other couples shown.
From the get-go you wonder about the moral spine of the leads as they are not some caricatures/cliches of the cdrama stereotypes. Both leads are not flashing their attractiveness, but they are dressed well, with subtle make up and hairdos that fit. What this stands out for is the maturity of the interactions, relationships and characters. The daughter of a military family that was killed off is on the road to revenge -check. She is using herself as a bait and even a possible victim of abuse - check. The Crown Prince crippled and weak holding the grudge for the death of his mother - check. He is also shady about how he feels about his emperor father - check. Third prince villain-check - but he is not a bumbling baboon and actually an articulate, dignified, even if spoilt, dude with integrity. Have you seen that a lot? I did not. I actually liked him better than the grayish shade of the ML, but in the end, he gets what he deserves. And that Imperial consort, mom of the 3rd prince? Crazy jealous -check. Smarter than the emperor? You bet! And even 3rd princess does not come as an idiot, just as a woman stuck between her minister father and heir implied husband.
All the actors did an amazing job to be the characters they played. It was like a good theater performance: real, un-retouched at times raw and at times evoking the sense of them being just pitiful. You don't get grand gestures and doubled or tripled shots of the same scene for added grandiosity. People still spit blood and get splashed with it - you just don't see acting in it - you see people suffering and getting shocked. I give them all 10/10 for that and bow to the director for this!
Now on to relationship of the leads: You will get nice tension, lavish kissing and no shying away from showing what marriage of two people attracted to one another looks like behind the close doors. The shots of these embarrassing if you watch it on public transportation scenes is done very tactfully but long enough for all of us who like that stuff to smile. And what I personally enjoyed in the scenes of the couples interacting is what they don't say but show with faces, bodies and voice.
Even the ending was thoughtful- you don't get any stupid hang ups from misunderstandings, but there is an issue of trust, self-determination and power. Remember crazy emperor forcing the woman he desires to marry him? Well, for the crown prince who does not give his father an antidote as a revenge for allowing to kill his mother - what do you think he will do? And the woman who discovers that the husband she aligned with and started to love faked being poisoned by others without telling her - do you think she will stay with him?
The few songs during the show were really good. It reminded me of the quality in Princess Royal theme. BGM was discreet and not intrusive. and it was all superbly edited.
Fights scenes? OK Camera work? good Lighting? Amazing! I am very tired of night scenes where you can spot needles on the ground because the producer thought that the more light - the better.
Overall the underhanded way of this drama will probably make a lot of people forget it quickly. I, on the other hand, will look at it again because it is rare to see drama with characters that are not heroic, but human. That is why I am giving it 8.

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This is not your typical c-drama but for a shorter production quite lovely and entertaining

Childhood friends share fate and a secret, but their beloved fathers get murdered, and the kids separated. On top of it the boy gets stuck in the vengeance mode (don't expect blood thirsty brute though) and the girl lost her memory (do expect a ditzy one here). They meet 10 years later but on the opposite sides of law and yet get pulled into the vortex of events that draw them closer and more reliant on their past, characters and sense of duty. The romance blossoms early on by chance and due to the ever-present drugs in this drama, but it's fun to watch the subtle dance of attraction between the leads and secondary characters, most of which were written well and acted accordingly. As some people noted, the ending is an OE, sort of like what we had in The Untamed, but it was rather unexpected and to be honest, I would have been fine without this potentially happy ending. Even the death of the secondary character at the end served an important role, therefore I am not criticizing the script writer for it. So, if you are looking for the typical drama, don't get your shorts tied in the knot-this is artistically inclined and visually-auditory pleasant one to savor rather than speed through.

I liked everything about this production: starting with how there were no introductions at the beginning, but BAM! dropping us in the middle of an event that was self-explanatory and laden with tension. I loved the OST, that was mostly instrumental with a few fantastic songs sung by female, male and a duet, creating not only a background but mood and character of the story telling. The plot was good, although not inventive, and kept me interested, and had enough turns to dispel any misguided guesses on who the main culprit was and why. We get some bread crumbs here and there but vague enough to keep making mistakes. Also, for the die-hard fans of the Confucian tradition - you will not get filial piety here in the end and (surprise, surprise) rather clear message on what really matters to us when we take a harder look at our life's purpose. The ML played very well, I also thought that FL was good. Two SMLs were very entertaining and showed good range of skills - from body use to facial and voice. The aspect of miracle drug was used without exaggeration as a vehicle of uncovering true face/motivation of various characters. Fight scenes were solid with a new trick: climbing walls with a flip! Even if some things did not make sense (blood transfusion, etc.) the whole point is above the question "was it realistic?". If you want documentary, then switch genre. This was believable to the extent of being a love story.

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This is for adult viewers or people who want more than just fantasy IN MEMORIAM for YML

This is a romance between races, but also tragic story of self-sacrifice. Most folks will hate the ending, but for me it was a world better than The Love Between Fairy and Devil!
From the first episode I was spell-bound. Considering I am not a big fan of fantasy this was one of the best I had seen in general and the best of 2024. Why? Consistent production. Great editing. Fun costumes, awesome color palette. Solid acting. Good story and interesting characters. Music and the lyrics! But what beats Burning Flames and Love Game for me was complex subtext of this story. The whole idea of animosity between two groups is nothing new but I have not seen anything like this before. I admit I only saw 350+ dramas, but this script was smart inside out. I was raised during the era of post-communist regime in the country where we could not openly speak of the tragedies and terror around us, so we developed an artistic, metaphoric way of communicating our observations, dissent and longings. I loved this drama because of how it spoke to that.
Now that we all know how much suffering YML had gone through in his career and how horribly he had died - being the hero of this drama is truly a memorial to his courage to persevere, love for who and what he loved and eternal sadness that he left us in. I never thought that this drama would be the last of his main roles released in his lifetime. I am going to look for Traditional Chinese Medicine that hopefully will be released soon just to see him again - as a healer.
If you are looking for an easy, HE romance, nah. Skip it. If you want a good story that is visually beautiful and filled with wisdom - give it a try. Or watch it just to honor the great person that Yu Meng Long was.

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just the plot description- watched with really bad Eng Subs, so my apologies....

Hi everybody, MDL does not have the plot listed so here it is:
I watched this drama just to see Li Fei who imho is a darn good actor and should be playing in more mainstream pieces. This was a new FL playing with him and their scenes together were not as good as the ones we already swooned over (ha ha ha, we all know that Mr. Li knows exactly how to fool us into believing he is kissing the females). But back to the plot:
A young FL (14 or so) falls in love with a blind man, who is later cured and reciprocates the affection for FL. But then they get separated because he goes to war. Luckily, he comes back and reunites with FL, but... The old creep of an Emperor hell bent on getting the girl snatches her as his (I guess) concubine. The FL is heartbroken and so is her spirit because of the cruelty of the emperor towards her. As any sexually traumatized person, she only knows sexual acting out, and does so with any man that reminds her of the love she lost. Somewhere there with the lovers there is Crowned Prince (I think) with whom she has some steamy encounters and who clearly is very attracted to her. Then the old creepy Emperor dies, and FL becomes Dowager Empress, so perhaps crown prince saves her from death (?) However, the promiscuity of the Dowager goes on for about 15 years and the whole country hates her for that. Among her lovers there is a man who reminds her so much of her lover that she starts doing things she is unsure about. It doesn't help that she somehow also gets involved with the new Emperor....
Don't hate me for this. Just trying to give the community more info on this mini drama. I will look for better subs in English and then write a review.

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Shockingly good and well worth the time-link

I first wrote the review after watching 13 translated episodes (many thanks to SOONSETRA for delivering!!!) of this short drama (max 20 minutes long each) and here was my original impression:
incredible plot with the "gotcha" villain
amazing characters
awesome dialogues
fantastic acting of leads and secondary
skillful directing
flawless editing
beautiful and fitting OST incl. bgm but in YT version, unfortunately I recognized music from other minidramas (incl. Li Fei's The Tale of Love and Loyalty jig) which dropped the rating half a point.
tacky decor
eye candy outfits
grateful for tactful combining of serious with comedy, thought provoking with slow burn romance and consistent characterization of FL (thanks heavens).

And after finishing al episodes I am sticking to the 9/10 because the story (of poisoned babies, their moms and people dear to the leads) gives depth to this slow romance and tale of friendships and blood ties. Plus we get to see a rare sadness that comes with watching what happens when you live knowing that life is ending before you even started enjoying it. I loved the romance: the actors were very well paired and delivered excellent performance. Majority of production was cohesive and even if there were goofy parts of the script/story that could have been better developed/delivered, this was almost on par with my favorite mini drama A Familiar Stranger.

Who should not watch this: lovers of simplistic plot and usual tropes (I honestly did not see that much of troping here). People who cannot take ambivalence in the ending (don't worry it's good, but not "juicy kiss followed by carrying her princess style to the alcove"-very fitting for what we had seen in 24 episodes). Anybody who needs a villain all throughout the drama.
Is it spectacular? No. But it has nice visuals, even though a bit tacky for my taste.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orJVihzImyk&list=PLZHWNFciVYEN4-BtQFe_TJC2wj9TwnSPb

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Regardless of the 16 year old being casted as FL in love mini drama

I actually liked it. The music was good, visuals interesting, acting, except for the underage person, also good. I have not seen the FL in any other role, but I will go back to her roles from the beginning to see what the reason was for casting her here. She has been in the dramas since 2017 so at 17 she has ten years of acting behind her. Still, not impressed here. The miniseries is really an attempt at artistic production, I mean angles of the shots, colors, tempo, choreography of the scenes... it really seems like an art project. I loved the bamboo forest fight as it was a puppet/shadow theatre-like and the use of the color was perfect. You need to watch it closely as the episodes are short and it's really easy to miss some details, so you may want to slow down the play to .75, which I did the second time I watched it. Overall - an interesting mini but don't get your shorts in a knot just because the FL actress is underage and the rest of them, particularly her romantic counterpart, is an adult man.

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SO MUCH LIGHT FUN

A few months ago, I put this on hold just after 4 episodes due to horrible Eng sub translation on YT. When it popped on IQIYI recently I was still curious (how could you not be when there is literally no plot for the first 50 episodes other than men from harem vying for Queens favor???) and, as expected, I enjoyed watching half naked male beauties bickering like hens among themselves, or steeling each other's best outfits for diligently serving the Queen, or flaunting themselves at the FL from all directions. And what makes it really enjoyable is the current excellent translation. I mean, how can you not love "my butt is perkier than yours" and countless one-liners that fit a perfectly staged and shot scene (two concubines in the blurry foreground having a pillow fight while the camera focuses on a slightly embarrassed FL who sits calmly watching with glee two idiots wrestle and then finally getting up with "I am leaving. Carry on" or one consort telling the other "where is your dignity, you think her majesty will like you dressed like a cheap whore")?

People complained that the FL character is weak. True, but she has a consistent personality of a pushover dummy from the first life (who was manipulated by a man who hated her) to a reincarnated pushover dummy being sexily played by a man who worships her. How is that bad - particularly if we get to see abs galore, exposed legs and necks and some really skilled filming of what probably qualifies as Chinese version of a soft porn? 🤣🤣🤣

If you want an ambitious drama - look elsewhere. This is a straightforward eye feast for most hetero women who don't have to be strong as long as there is a fool in love who will remove all the obstacles from their lives and make love to them every turn while forsaking all other interests while we women still have other ahm... options available. It does not hurt to be loved by two handsome boys, right? Especially when they have been reborn with you and can band together to save you, perhaps even willing to share you? I giggled with abandon but was touched by Prince of Cang's dignity and self-sacrifice-a lovely detail.

But seriously, there are some turns of the plot here that will keep you glued to the screen in the end. Plus, the director created a solid, consistent look for this production with intimate feel in every scene which was done without theatrics and did not look cheap, regardless of the small budget (pay attention to things like the framing of the night talk with that old twisted tree trunk in ep 55 or the shadow theatre in the window in ep 12, or the stunning outfits of all parties- including three grooms on the wedding day). The 3 hours of the drama packed all the important things that are necessary for keeping your interest: conflict premise, opposing interests and views, scheming parties yet no single villain, catchy lovemaking scenes and seductive moves of various characters. Even flashbacks were incorporated seamlessly without the unnecessary refocusing. Add to it really good acting of fairly unknown actors (even though both Fl and ML have been each in over 30 micro/mini dramas since 2020) and excellent directing/edition and you get solid joyous experience of a S-drama in a nutshell.

The only thing that I personally did not like was lack of independently commissioned music - in QIYI version it was mostly borrowed from My Journey to You, One and Only, The Story of the Kunning Palace, and various other big budget dramas. While the use of these songs and BGM was very skilled and I loved the pieces in the original dramas, it was still distracting to hear them here: I dropped my rating one full point because of this. And I subtracted another point for lack of story/plot substance as there was not much empowerment or women's rights stuff here (a wasted opportunity if you ask me given the fact that the emperor is female guided by extremely powerful Dowager Empress). But still, what was once an incoherent seduction fest with really bad subs is now a reason to say that VD is alive and kicking in 2025 and still testing the boundaries of risqué and tongue in cheek fun.

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"Futuristic" anti-hero and you will love him

For a short drama, this was really worth watching.
I saw the poster and was intrigued, but the synopsis did not prepare me for what this drama dished out in all the 18 episodes. If you think this is going to be simple-it won't. If you expect the usual tropes - you will get them twisted. Not until ep 15 and 16 will you fully understand and appreciate the lead couple and how they ended up doing what they are doing. There are breadcrumbs scattered from the beginning to track the viewers' guesses but what you will really enjoy are the FL (the female version of Uncle Wu from Joy of Life-how novel!) and the fun of watching the characters in the virtual game. The wacky ML, stone faced hilarious 2ML, kick ass 2FL and heart-touching love stories of all of the couples (including the concubine Zhang and prince Wu) will become more than holograms or NPC. But if it starts as a slapstick comedy, it evolves into a totally different type.
The smart script gives us an anti-hero stuck with multiple tries but unlike Fan Xian from Joy of Life (who gets help left and right and nearly walks on water) Chen Xiao Hua is just unlucky, oblivious and completely on his own when thrown into political scheming that he neither wants to participate in nor is capable of managing. But then everyday people (incl. competing concubines, rebellious general and an assassin of a foreign power) start aiding the ML who slowly figures out the painful truth of his existence. And he takes others on the ride with him, changing them in the process. But don't think this is a ML-centric show-it's not.
I made a comment when I first started watching it, a comment about the opening credits that gave me Matrix vibes, but overall, I would pair this up with the mood of the Blade Runner- even though this was a small-scale production. Sorry for using the Western references only, I am doing it because I really value the titles I just mentioned.

Is it a masterpiece? Far from it-people already posted about shortcomings of the show. Is it enjoyable? For some people probably not, while others will be glued to the screen. Is it worth watching? Absolutely! And not only because it will make you think and reflect while entertaining (consider the line "woman's best dowry is her devotion, a man's best pledge is tolerance and companionship. The most valuable things in this world are free"). See for yourself- it is one of these rare Chinese productions that does not cater to the general public tastes to make a quick money or fame and presents a clear vision of the creators.

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If you are bored, chained to your screen or otherwise self-torturing - this is for you

A guy falls for a girl. The girl has a kid with that dude while her "brother" is jealous and does a lot to undermine their relationship. Oh, and his mom is the cause of all misunderstanding between the main leads because... well, she is the mom who has to do stuff for her son. Then the girl has amnesia and becomes a revenge infiltrator of the military mansion by becoming a secretary to big kahuna. Kauna's wife will only hire a female secretary who is married and with a kid, so the girl hires a homeless orphan to act as her child and in the most crucial moment when she has to present her husband, the subordinate of the big kahuna claims to be her spouse because ta-da! he is the boy who loved the girl and fathered her child! How do you like it so far? Don't touch that dial because I am only on ep 1! Seriously, if you can track each and every turn of the plot with ridiculous tropes - hats off to you for wasting enough brain cells that would last you for a driver license exam. Oh, just so you know - the hired kid is really her son and the pretend husband has been stabbed by FL around the time of amnesia set on because he is the son of the villain who killed girl's family. If you are not confused yet - watch for yourself.
Unfortunately, this production sucks: the story and characters are so unbelievably bad, and the scenes are stretched beyond any acceptable limits that I had to stop 3/4 of the way to not puke. Seriously, rewatch value 0 because even if instead of 40, there were 12 episodes and not 15 min each but 8-10 min long, it still would have had extra time without substance other than long and slowed shots from all possible angles of pretty people -I must add - looking breathtaking at times.
Why did I not drop it? Because I watch the Republican era series just to watch the outfits. Qipaos are to die for! I want to own all of them! The guys in uniforms - even if ridiculously pointing guns at each other every minute - and shouting things like Boss I ran out of bullets - are not to be missed! Too bad ML, Yuan Hao, famous for his smile, had to play such mediocre crap. Jiang Zhi Nan is spectacular, but she could do better than this - if you have not seen her in Rise from Ashes do it now to truly appreciate her talent.
Edit mid 2025: I just watched a 55-minute compilation of the romantic scenes from this put together on YT and it was TO DIE FOR! that's right: this drama can be summed up in 55 minutes and the effect will make you drool. GO for it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brPbGe6xlS4

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The most amazing short drama of this year

Oh, what a fantastic story, intelligent script/dialogue, beautiful characters, seamless editing and gorgeous cinematography under skilled direction with really good actors wrapped in the music that created pure magic.
If you watched costume dramas for a while and enjoyed finding easter eggs in Dream within Dream (in form of references to other dramas) you will like how this production positions familiar scenes in a new context with incredible skill and emotional impact. That iconic slide to embrace her in Blossom? Check. The hair accessory wedding between MLs in Untamed? Check. The bites from Fated Hearts? Check. The kickass general falling for supernatural boy from Shadow Love? Check as well. But not in the way you think and not with the result that will leave you frowning. There is plethora of smart humor like that 3-way stabbing in the opening scene of another drama, except you get 3 men fighting for 1 woman. And the lines that actors deliver with incredible feeling are just awesome.
I was glued to the screen for 5 hours (that is how long the entire 24 episodes take without the breaks for opening and closing credits). The music, both songs and BGM instrumentals, is so fitting, soulful and beautiful. The natural light used for some shots are truly giving the feel for what the characters are experiencing. The camera work, framing and close-ups are done in such a way that you don't notice anything but what the director wants you to notice - the weight of thoughts and emotions that permeated the setting in that moment.
Saying that this is a vampire story is like saying Love Between Fairy and Devil is about losing Hell Fire and gaining something more powerful instead. First of all, the male lead drinking blood is poisoned and not a vampire. Like every woman on the planet, he too during full moon, becomes irritable/unreasonable and drinks blood to save himself. Secondly, FL is not reborn but gets a soul transfer into another body and gets revived at exactly same moment she dies. Thirdly, another ML is not a villain. Every character here is solid, complex and almost heroic. This is not a romance in the usual sense but a masterful storytelling of how a woman who lost all her power can still kick ass. And unlike in other fantasy full length dramas there is nothing here that is superfluous as a filler. Flashbacks are done in a clear and self-evident way. 3-way romance is totally believable given the history of the characters and current circumstance. No unnecessary cruelty, humiliation - just good people in impossible dilemma doing things that make sense in the moment but with dire consequences. Sacrificing self without a fanfare of being a good guy and with heaviness of recognition that one is being manipulated and needs to stand by something more important than just loyalty. Oh, what a spellbinding watch this was!
Any shortcomings? Some, but not serious enough to drop points. Any criticism? Again, there could have been better continuity logistics, but it was a fantasy world so anything goes. Altogether it worked like the world of LOTR: they kept going because they were holding onto something-there is good in this world and it's worth fighting for.

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Must watch first 11 eps! This is a very romantic cp

I personally rated it 8.0 and if I stopped at ep11, it would be a solid 8.5 because it has comedy, cuteness and romance, well scripted, acted and executed, but given all 20 episodes it really is less than that.
We have many cp here (listed in chronological order) starting with the Godes like Lu Ming and her demon lover Sha. She gets tricked by her master into offing her lover and then offs herself.
Then we have the body of Lu Ming reincarnated as Cheng Yan (another cultivator hell bent on offing demons) who is close to her brother Cheng Tian, but he in turn is just the body of her brother taken over by - you guessed it - Sha. Therefore, he has hots for her while she is really interested in someone else. Who?
Cheng Yan is drawn to Chen: a cute, kitty soft and purring demon with amnesia who falls head over heels - with reciprocity! The best part is first 11 episodes when their love is so romantic, sweet and downright steamy on their wedding night. Yikes! You can tell that this duo (Fang Tong and Xiao Dong) played a couple before and I highly recommend you go back to Kiss Me, Save Me to watch them all googly eyed in modern/drama times. They are smoking hot and I want to see them together more! Unless Tong can do another comedy like Decreed by Fate with Yan Zi Xian who was hilarious in My Uncanny Destiny (their recent Culinary Vendetta was so so, but they have a potential).
Back to the story
There is also Mu Ling who is after Cheng Tian, but that is going nowhere other than really nasty with the 2ML and FL.
And when we come to ep 12 things start going blah. 2ML is not convincing and a few episodes are wasted on things we really don't need, but in the end (ep19 and 20) we are getting closer to the truth of why Chen and Cheng Yan are so close and destined.
The ending is like what we got in Love of Nirvana and Till the End of the Moon, so don't complain. Also, if you are against actors paired up with some age gap - I am totally fine with Tong Tong being 31 and her romantic partner in this production being only 24. They DO fit well, and I hope they will do more dramas together.
OST and BGM is fitting, esthetically it's as good as A Moment but Forever (same sets I think) and definitely beats some other really bad stuff that I dropped this year.
If you watch to the end, you will realize that the plot starts going places it did not intend to go in the first half of the drama and while the ending is what I completely predicted, and think is fitting - it's 7.5 only.

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I liked it!

So this is not your typical romance thingy. First of all, FL is not in love with anyone as she is on her revenge and vengeance trip. Pissed as hell and using all to get what she is after. She is engaging with the leads just to get what she needs -hence the title Flower that Belongs to No Man. I am not even going to wonder how to justify why it's called The Lady Commander. It is more of hate-obsession story, because honestly there was no love, only obsession from the male leads. ML is a bit better in the final of the story, but he is pathetic as a male. The crazy 2ML is another story, but let's just say whoever wrote this story and the characters was not aiming at showing a romance or a love story, just human misery in the esthetically pleasing manner.
For an 8-minute drama this was really concise but also interesting. I know these miniseries are low budget and not much to praise, but I thought that it was a good production and acting, Even the ending was decent. albeit sad. But what made this jump from 7,5 to 8 was the OST, namely opening credits music. EPIC!
I am a Fan of Liang Xue Feng (2024 seems like his year for playing main roles - do look him up!) and Zhao Jia Min, so I suffered not seeing much chemistry between them which was required by the script, but they both played authentic characters the best to their potential.
Would I watch it again? No. But since there is not OST on YT that I can find I play episodes randomly just to hear the music! HA!

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Very complex story packed with good characters - romance, revenge and whole lot of more!

This was one of the first surprises in 2025: short, but really involved story which sometimes was overdone and sometimes uncooked. Acting was pretty good although sometimes uneven, but overall the effect was really good.
Below are the major spoilers because tracking all the twists of the story is not so easy if you fast forward too much as a habit.

The story of a princess from the South who is raised by and for the enemy (North) to be their valiant leader of Jet-Black Armored Cavalry, is buried deeply underneath the usual orphan girl (pretending to be a boy) to general story. But while she is a kickass military person and has awesome relationship with her men (including 2nd prince of North who is her vice general) there are three scoundrels who plot to get rid of her - including the North King who orders her and her troop to be killed to keep 2nd prince under control. The history is further complicated by the fact that 2nd prince competes with his older brother for the throne and there is a envoy from the South (Shafeng) who falls for the general and also wants to get his paws on the North's throne.
The general FL does not die along her men, but she has to be now the tool and a toy of that dude from the South who not only gives the general better face but also masquerades himself as the 1st prince and... kills the North King after he imprisons the 1st stealing his face!
Further down the road 2nd prince falls for the general who is now a woman, and we are on the roller coaster ride because the general is poisoned and made a puppet of the Southern madman and unwillingly blinds the 2nd prince! Regardless of all of that the true love flourishes and in order to save his girl 2nd prince takes the general to the South King looking for a remedy. There we learn that the remedy can only be applied during the intercourse and the South King has that remedy in his hands, while WE know that the general is his sister!!! Will there be an incest?
Well, it all works out because of love: brotherly and romantic. People sacrifice themselves left and right (so many good side characters well written and played!) and in the end all band together to free the 1st prince from the clutches of the madman from the South pretending to be the North King now aiming at marrying the general even though he is dying of poison himself. He will give the general antidote to her poison but in exchange for killing the 2nd prince. The general is smart and will just wound her beloved, but after she does the madman from the South reveals that he poisoned the weapons so even a scratch will kill the 2nd prince. How do you like it now, huh?
Ending? In Ep 23 we are still wondering how the Southern scoundrel is going to ruin leads' happiness since he escaped the North with the news that South now has an antidote to his poison. In the last episode the tension builds incredibly because now there is the 3rd country attacking the North and they came with the deadly poisons of the Shafeng on their weapons! The 2nd prince now the King of North orders his soon to be wife and queen to stay in the palace, but when she defies that order he follows her because she is always his general. The HE could have been better organized rather than two-line comment about the death of the Southern madman, but it was still satisfying to see that the ML stood by FL!

For those who had seen the FL actress before (for ex in Love and Bid Farewell) you will love her agency and power here. For those who like the male leads here - all 3 ML are handsome and there is plenty of naked torsos and seductive masculinity in plain view. All of that is encased in a really nice sound/OST and framed with very good outdoor shots with incredible lighting that fits the scenes' gravitas or melancholy (you will love half naked troop toiling against the backdrop of greener than envy grass as well as kisses, lingering longing and intimacy - particularly the bed scene after consummation!)

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Fantastic vertical "version" of Prisoner of Beauty TRUE TO THE NOVEL

A great "hate-to-love" relationship with distrust and suspicion between the leads (all the reasons for that shown and no simplistic resolution by googly eyes and scheming) mingled with raw (unconsented) lust and jealousy, and slow, sensuous yielding (with consent), where you can actually see both leads awkwardness at first when becoming intimate, learning how to tolerate one another's differences, and then falling for each other while surprising themselves with tenderness and recognition of loyalty build up. Our FL learns how to yield in order to lead and (like in Shadow Love) we have here a great metaphor for male love: it starts with attraction and sex and requires him to develop beyond desire and instinctual domineering. We never see outright cruelty and humiliation as applied by strong ML, which VDs are full of, but third-party evil deeds are there, shown I must say with appropriate restraint. What this production has are these (and I elaborate below):
1 excellent novel adaptation
2 awesome acting and directing,
3 killer editing and overall dramatic effect.

1 Almost everything here is how it was in the novel-of course scaled down to what matters. We don't get extensive background of the story like in the book and no massive dump of who is who at the start but editing of the short flashbacks is done so well, you are right away swept by 1st life tragedy of the Xiao Qiao, FL, killed by her emperor husband Liu Yan, when Wei Shao, ML, storms the palace taking the country from the worthless ruler. We know she got "reincarnated" but in the 2nd life she was married off to the ML instead of her sister and we know that there is a blood feud going on between the Wei and Xiao families (ML's father and brother died because of Xiao clan's betrayal). But granny Wei arranged for the marriage between the families to heal both. And the story here follows the book closely, while dismissing minor plots that would have taken too much time in the micro-drama, but leaving the elements that make it really clear what kind of relationship Man Man and Zhong Lin had with each other-and boy do they show it! In fact, they show a lot -including that famous scene of the cousin Wei Yan pleasuring himself in front of the mural of the FL he just painted! Ah, VD... less censorship of risqué and naughty.

2 I was wondering what Ceasar Wu was doing in VD, but I tell ya - he is nailing it! Liu Yu Ning was good in his version of ML (if you like to watch a neanderthal being led by nose), but man, Ceasar is literally the Wei Shao I imagined when reading the novel (competent, smart, all in or all out kind of guy, who does not allow anybody to lead him on). Unlike Song Zu Er in PoB (cunning and manipulative from start to end), Yue Yu Ting, does not pretend to be a wilted flower while being clever and scheming; she is just a woman well aware of the past life tragedies and deathly afraid of watching them happen again, hence acting the way she does-even if she detests deception and almost prostituting herself to the enemy. If this was done as a full-length drama with both leads and by the same crew - I would be much happier with it than with the Prisoner of Beauty released earlier this year. Even secondary characters were casted well here. And although I am still in love with Liu Duan Duan as the long version cousin, the one here is good, as is the ambitious widow. Too bad there are no names listed here for all the cast and crew.

3 I loved how director was able to condense whole chapters in one scene and to show exactly what we needed to see to get a gist of the character, situation or the problem. We get less than 3 minutes of FL's flashback and reaction to the news of former flame of the ML plus Su E Huang's short exchange with ML topped with her inner commentary on what she wants and voila - we know what to expect of Yu Lou. One sentence overheard by someone plus the look on their faces and their thought or flashback and voila-we completely understand what comes next. And the whole set up with sister and the stable boy? We did not need it as long as both FL's sister and her spouse appeared and there was a clash between ML and Bi Zhi. Same thing with the goofy mother of the ML and poisoning of the grandmother: short, to the point, done! Yea, there were some liberties with details, but not so drastic as to change the tone of the story like in PoB the drama - this was done consistently and with a plan to yield satisfying delivery of the main characters' story. I do wish MDL listed the director and screenwriter along with secondary actors so I could follow them in the future.

I will be honest: after reading the novel I really wanted to see what could be done on screen with such a violent character of the ML and underwhelming FL I read about. After watching Prisoner of Beauty this spring (which I rated 8/10 mostly because it was a completely different characterization of the leads than that in the novel but decent nevertheless in its own right, although I disliked the deceptive FL and bumbling brute of ML) I came across this. Someone said it was low budget PoB but I have to say this is better than PoB even on a large budget. I binge watched it using two different postings on YT to cross reference the Eng subs and I tell you: this was much closer to the original novel than PoB from March 2025. And it actually has a better understanding of what the original characters were like.

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This could have been so much better but falls flat on its face-this was not Mr. Queen

I was so taken in by the synopsis that says "Modern CEO Lin Yu Hao suddenly finds his consciousness transported into the tea merchant game he developed, now inhabiting the body of Wei Xiao Tang, a new bride of the Li family" and the trailer that shows two modern guys looking at each other lovingly. I surmised that even though a man "becomes" a woman in the game, he will actually fall in love with the ML. And I was not wrong, except...
Both lead actors were playing well as per scripted character roles, but the story was cliche and delivered in such a way that left me scratching my head. I was really, really hoping for openly gay romance, but instead it was ML silently waiting or minimally working on getting FL, who really was not that interested in anything but the game.
The most important part that the makers I think were trying to focus on is that loving someone of the same sex is OK and - given heavy reliance on "fated" connection in cdrama tradition- if we are attracted on someone of the same sex it is probably because we were in the "normal" relationship with them in previous life. Or in a dream. Or in the game. Or some other justification that at this point is needed for CCP and conservative Chinese public that believes in two genders and attraction along these lines.
There was way too many slow mo scenes and repetition of the the same scenes wrapped in music taken from another short drama A Familiar Stranger, which for me ruined the final effect.
And while we get a HE the writing at the end are desperate attempt to put substance in this production regardless of what it really could not accomplish in 25 episodes.
If you like the actors - watch it. If you want Bromance skip it. If you want BL go watch Kill to Love again.

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