Charlie C

This series sure takes its time. Even though I could barely watch more than one episode per day, I still told myself to be patient, not only because good things come to those who wait, but also:
+ How I like Meng jie and Li Yun Rui together, they have chemistry, they look good individually, and they look adorable together (this series further proves it).
+ Li Yun Rui's acting has really improved since "Blossoms". (I haven't watched any of his other projects.) He fits in this character and the scholar type much more than the general.
+ Meng jie has a good character to work with here. She is still more of a stereotypical ice character she often plays, but her character has more emotions to display and more scheming to play with. She has some bits of Liu Li from "Royal Rumours" here. It makes it a little more popped, a little more exciting.
+ The on-location sceneries are beautiful, some set designs such as ML's home really hits it;
+ The costumes are well-made for the guys and gorgeous for the ladies while the makeup and appropriate filters feel elegant, natural instead of greasy and overdone;
+ The OST is pretty catchy. "Autumn Breeze and Jade Brew", sang by Duan Ao Juan, was filled with such clarity and emotions ; the traditional instrument sound only adds to its delights. But, I heard that most interesting tune, the song with seemingly the children choir, was AI-generated... a first strike that I was willing to forgo as well until...

Episode 14.

I've read some of the spoilers. I already knew roughly the storyline for Chun Hua and Liu Wen Ji. I liked how both are innocent, as well as their love. But honestly, the system ruins them. I was prepared for heartbreak. But, I was not prepared to be this DIGUSTED.

They made the perpetrators, the criminals, the rapist caricatures, added comedic effects whenever these people were on screen, made light of their evil doings, wrote repulsively gleeful and unremorseful dialogues... Worse, they repeated and continued with such insensitivity and disregard to the pain and suffering of the victims and those who care about them and justice as a whole. (With the on-going Cornell 7? With Chanel Miller a few years ago? With all the Jane Does coming forward with their stories? Don't give excuses to the sinful and the injustice. Don't be part of the problems, the patriarchy and the internalised sexism. Don't say: what does China have to do with all this. Read up and educate yourself with some of the horrendous cases in China and Asia, then puke.)

I was ready to abandon the ship, but stuck around a little bit, hoping this series would redeem itself; I think it had potential, it just started to get going, and the lead actors were getting somewhere proper here...

But no, it has to disrespect the viewers, the actors and itself with the flimsy, water-thin, laughable court drama plot. Why in the world did you list the villains, from dangerous side to vicious main, only to kill a smaller one with such ease and breeze? It felt inconsequential. I felt no weight, no investment, no interest. This likely dangerous second level boss even received less attention than the one-eye, one-dimensional villain that took a few episodes to kill off!
And the way the people cheered for ML when he loudly pronounced he killed the old eunuch... Noisy distraction and delusion.

I kept waiting, hoping for a good stake. But the stake isn't even medium (like how Marty/Jeff Goldblum says it in "Tour de Pharmacy"), it's done. F-cking done. Throw it to the trash.

I'm about to go to sleep and I just know, this will f-cking torment me and give me nightmare. I never thought I'd feel this disgusted and abhorrent about a Chinese drama. But here I am.

On the record: The actors probably did their best with what they were given. More so, I want to shame and guilt the sh-t out of the producers, writers, directors and those who made the decisions to run and ruin this series. There are some other questionable details in this drama, but they all feel minor at this point. F-cking pathetic.

Conclusion: F-cking NO.