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both of them are insane and hot

fl: wang hai min
this drama is so so good!! and the chemistry is chemistrying!! the kisses were real and there were plenty of intimacy scenes that the actors did a great job at conveying intense passion. the fl is a strong confident total b*tch who isn't afraid to go after her man and the ml is a red/black flag but never directed toward her. he's obsessed and possessive and as the story goes on you realize oh okay he's actually just insane. like during her first life he loses his mind after her death and during her dreams you get to see how much he did for her and what he was really like behind the scenes because (spoiler below). the dynamic between the ml and fl is 100% brat + indulgent brat tamer. he lets her get away with acting absurdly in a way no other concubine can act. he pretends to set boundaries and punishments but they're all straw obstacles meant for public appearances and he gives her loopholes to exploit. the emperor never touches any other concubine during the drama. they're all there for political reasons and at the end he ends up with her as his one and only. also, despite how entitled and obnoxious the fl can be toward the other concubines, she only acts that way toward those who wronged her in her previous life. she's loyal and caring toward her friend and in her first life she was way too good to her sister who just wanted to use her to get into the palace. the revenge plot is complete and the ending is happy and satisfying.

spoilers!!
because to her face he posed as a gentleman because she likes gentlemen he played the part of a good and just emperor who cares for the people when in reality he only cared about her and if she didn't like chivalrous men he'd pretend to be whatever she liked. at first she was a little hesitant after she realized he's actually not a good man, but she wasn't ever scared or reproachful she actually loved that about him and fully accepted his craziness because he did it all for her. they're both ride or dies for each other and i feel like they both wouldn't have a problem with the idea of braiding their hair together to make an inseparable knotted rope.

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Zhu Xiao Xue and Xie Yu Wang made this drama great

So my standards for cdrama plot lines, acting, production are very very low lol, so my score is relative to the average modern or historical vertical cdrama (of which i have watched far far far too many).

The plot was the average cdrama reborn, enacts plan for retribution against sml and sfl, ml is the brother of sml who has loved her since their pinky promise childhood days. The plot is well executed, so it gets a 5 because it's perfectly average, nothing remarkable or pioneering. And it was done well with no alterations that would make it worse, like constant torture for the fl to endure or prolonging frustrating misunderstandings.

The real highlight is the leads' acting. they were so so so good on screen together!! Incredible chemistry and plenty of kissing/teasing/flirting. Zhu Xiao Xue is a great actress and I really like a lot of her work and same with Xie Yu Wang. when Zhu Xiao Xue's character is pretending to contemplate whether or not to take the sml back after exposing his infidelity, she can't even be bothered to pretend like she likes that man, absolutely dogwalks him. And the ml is piping hot green tea that's always teasing her when the sml is around. The way they both are so expressive with their eyes is just >o
And I can't forget her grandpa who's on the ml's side. If the ml is fragrant green tea, her grandpa is the teacup.

It's a solid choice for anyone looking to scratch the green tea ml itch or for anyone looking for a well done vertical cdrama. The quality acting genuinely breathes life into this tired plot. You won't feel like you wasted 2 hours or regret using the little time you had today to watch a drama on something unsatisfying or horrible.

As long as you feel like the plot, regardless of how cliche or repetitive, is entertaining then you will enjoy this drama.

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