Justine

Recent couple episodes feel promising.
I have been enjoying the drama even previously but really did not like the ML. Meddlesome, a bit annoying, and did not give me the impression he had anything better to do than follow the FL around — not what I expect from a top scholar. Now he seems more mature, is actively investigating the case, and looks better (red/purple suits him more than blue).

Quite enjoy the "feels good" / comedy moments this drama has.

How did you conclude she was "jealous" of Tang Li? Her throwing a fit was out of anger, because the person she has learned to trust the most was hiding the truth behind her back. You don't have to love that person to be upset.

The trope wasn't well done. The ML can show (to the viewers) that he loves the FL "behind curtains". He can even drive away suitors who he thinks isn't a good match for the FL. But thinking he's entitled to a second chance when he, before the amnesia happened, 1. never gave the FL a chance, 2. deeply hurt her, and 3. accepted the vow to cut ties with her, makes him really unlikeable.

If he just let things unfold OR expressed some thought along the lines of "even if I may not be worthy, I need to ensure the man she marries is truly worthy of her" as justification for standing in the way of the SML, he would be MUCH more likeable, and the audience would root for him when he actually gets together with the FL. But instead, he's hiding behind the identity of "Ming Shu's brother" to drive away any suitor because he, selfishly, wants to have a second chance.

There were plenty of interruptions sprinkled all over the drama. Those weren't the only times.

I'm not saying the FL should be with the SML. I'm not even saying the ML shouldn't get in the way of their relationship. But if he does so, he should communicate a legitimate reason as to why they shouldn't be together, and not just doing what he's doing seemingly out of pure jealousy or selfishness.

I think the problem is he's:
1. always driving away the SML (despite being her brother)
2. trying to make the FL feel something for him (again, despite being her brother)

These are very strange things for a brother to be doing. And since he intends to never reveal to the FL her true identity, if she supposedly never found out, would he force her to be single and stay by his side for life, and continue to try and invoke incestuous feeling out of the FL?

It's okay if he shows regret, affection(secretly), and concern over the FL. But from the way he's been acting, he's just annoying and selfish. He's supposed to be her brother, so he should at least try to act like one.

I'm not going to lie, the ML will really have to prove himself and stop being annoying, because otherwise I like the SML a lot more 😭 But it's obvious the SML was never going to end up with the FL.

What do you mean by "deeply understand"? The FL literally told us in the same episode she doesn't have any romantic feelings towards the SML. She just sees him as a friend. Is it bad of her to feel gratitude (and perhaps pity, because she won't return the love) towards the SML?

She did. You can rewatch the scene, Ep7 at around 7 minutes in. She kicked the abacus in front of the FL to make her slip.

That was at the start, and she had her reasons for doing so. They become good friends after.
That being said, this scene really bothered me. Nothing can justify making someone slip like that and risk causing serious, potentially life-long injury to them, especially when that someone is almost a total stranger and has done no harm to her.

Tang Li is kind of complicated. She's shown a couple times she's probably a good person deep within, she's just driven towards the "bad" side due to her tragic past and in order to avenge her dad(/family?).

Some of the complaints are weird. Complaining about the lack of progress in the investigation when the ML clearly is working to garner political power & support first to do so. Complaining about amnesia being dragged on as if she's somehow expected to recover within a couple days after falling off a cliff. Complaining about the "feminist club" as if 2-3 minutes of women showing support/giving advice to each other out of 80+ minutes of watch time is somehow ruining their experience.

The show definitely has its flaws but has been surprisingly enjoyable for the amount of hate it gets.

My main complaint is the ML. The fake sibling relationship wouldn't be so awkward if the ML (and his guard buddy helping him) wasn't always getting in the way of the SML and seemingly trying to invoke some kind of incestuous love from the FL. You're driving away every marriage prospect of the FL even though you're supposed to be his brother and intend to never reveal her actual identity. You want her to stay by your side as a sister for the rest of her life? And never marry? Wtf? There's a silver lining to this — maybe the ML is trying to protect her, because, like his mother said, if she married the SML then the SML's family will dig up her family background which could put her in trouble. If that was the case, then make it clear to the audience! Otherwise, it just makes him look like one of the most obnoxious MLs in cdramaland. I lowkey smiled when he ended up being imprisoned. And I say this as a WZQ fan. Liked him a lot in Imperial Coroner and OWGM, but he really should find a better role.

I agree that the false sibling relationship creates very awkward situations. Hopefully it stops soon.
I'm hoping the ML is not getting in the SML's way solely due to jealousy and more-so the fact that if they got together, the SML's family will do background checks on the FL which will put her in danger, as the ML's mom stated. If it's 100% just jealousy, then the ML is really unlikeable and WZQ should pick better scripts & roles.

Maybe he married someone who can help his political career. Abandoning their old love to marry someone else for political advancement seems like a common trend in this drama.

Why is he called Prince ass wipe 💀

Of course, but it's the last name AND everything else (face, way he speaks, things he said) that suggests he's more likely related than he is evil / an antagonist.
I think the ML deliberately showed the mark, and it's more likely he did it to gain an ally / political support, rather than to announce his identity to the enemy (because what good would that do him)

I don't think he's evil. He seemed to be asking out of concern or care. Notice his last name is the same as the ML's.

This drama is not perfect but some of the complaints make no sense 💀

?
The ML has been actively investigating though?

I was actually going to drop this after Ep 1. Usually, Episode 1 is the attention grabber, but I found it really boring, so I thought the remaining episodes would also be boring.

But then I learned Wang Hong Yi is the SML (really liked him in another drama), so I gave it another go. I liked it from Ep 3 onwards.

The drama is far from perfect, but imo it's good enough for me to stick around and see if things get more interesting.

Some things I just don't understand:

After the ML summoned the meteors, why does almost no one mention anything about it the next day as if it never happened? The sky turned purple, people were clearly set on fire, houses were destroyed, etc. Such a big event should be talked about more (and also invalidates the FL saying the ML never hurt anyone because he clearly did)

Clearly, the binding spell/restrictions placed on the FL only hurts her if she outright states her identity or that she loves the ML. Since she's so smart, she should easily be able to get around those restrictions. Just indirectly hint at the ML that you're under a binding spell. The resulting misunderstandings feel so forced because it feels easily avoidable.

Why introduce us to the weapon spirits and then make them disappear for half the story?

The story is quite innovative for a Xianxia, so why give it the most bland, typical Xianxia ending?

How did Han Nu (evil goddess) directly travel to the mortal realm? Didn't they say the "ladder"/connection between the heavenly and mortal realm was broken, and thus only the FL was able to get there through the "Sea of Flux" and almost died for it? If Han Nu could travel to the mortal realm herself, why didn't she just take back the gauntlet herself at the very start?

Pros:
overall story, acting, humor (at least for the first 1/3 of the drama), music isn't bad
Cons:
styling, some plotholes, pacing after first 10 episodes, music isn't amazing for a xianxia(10mpb, ashes of love, ancient love poetry, etc set the bar high), chemistry between leads isn't amazing

Overall, it's fine. Deserves higher than 8.0 considering recent rating inflation on mdl.

The main leads have some of the best chemistry in cdramaland, BUT aside from a bit of flirting and some cute interactions, there isn't actually much romance. The main focus of this drama is revenge.