Sunbath12

There are some nice moments in this drama - a lot of the supporting roles are nicely developed and performed, adding to a rich ensemble of characters bringing the kingdoms of Sui and Northern Qi to life. Some standouts to me are Grand Princess Li Changming, Tuan Tuan, Chu Linyang and even Gu Chusheng. But a gaping hole in this story is unfortunately a dull romance between Wei Yun and Chu Yu, our leads. There's simply not enough to sustain the long 40 episodes, and one wonders if condensing this story to 30 episodes might have done the trick. The narrative is too long-winded, making the more interesting dramatic parts somewhat disappear.

Not the epic historic tale I was looking for in a pretty dry section of Chinese drama land in this second half of 2025, but it is still worth checking out especially if you enjoy the reliable performances of Ding Yuxi and that of veterans such as Joe Chen and Cao Jun.