73
254
9
4
5
1
2
5
4
2
15
1
1
1
17
10
15
3
The plot was nothing new and yet I ate it up
I'm really struggling with how to rate this. The drama had a lot of issues BUT in terms of romance and vibes, it's 10/10.
The drama is about Jinzhao, the female lead who, due to a fortune-teller's prediction, was sent away to live with her grandmother. Upon her coming of age ceremony, she is welcomed back home. While dealing with family drama, and outside palace schemes, she catches the eyes of three men. Chen Yanyun, (the male lead) a powerful minister who her grandmother assists. Ye Xian, (the second male lead), an heir from a military family who has a life-long heart condition. Chen Xuanqing (third male lead), a top scholar and male lead’s nephew. As well as, Ji Yao (fourth male lead), her cousin who has doted on her since childhood and helps her throughout the story.
POSITIVE:
- Slow burn was burning real nice! Their marriage age was just as good.
- Mix of romance (at the forefront), family drama, simple palace politics and war (towards the end).
- Reverse Harem. The 4 men loved her differently and all had a significant role in her life.
- Angst. I ate up all the intense confrontational scenes.
- Fantastic fight scenes, including war scenes.
- Satisfying slaps. Probably the most slaps I’ve seen in a historical drama.
- Male lead: calculative, cunning and mature. Morally grey on the surface but it’s actually a green flag. Ci Sha played the role to perfection and Sanye has become one of my top 2026 favourites.
- Female lead: sassy and scheming. What I most loved is that she didn’t let anyone bully her. Ren Min’s best role for sure. Jinzhao has become one of my top 2026 favourites.
- Pretty cinematography and costumes.
NEGATIVE:
- There were lots of issues that were more nuanced than anything. BUT the one thing that truly bugged me was the writing between Jinzhao (FL) and Ye Xian (SML). So, throughout the whole drama, she treated him as nothing more than an ally. And yet in the end he was suddenly her “only special friend” that she suddenly cherished like crazy and displayed strong reactions for??!! The writers totally failed to show me their close bond. It felt weird that while she claimed such grand soulmate friendship, he was openly in love with her?! Look, I actually liked certain aspects of his character, but him whipping her was totally unnecessary and destroyed their bond for me. Plus his manchild behaviour was not it. The potential was there but the writing was off. It would have been better if their relationship was strictly friendship or if he was simply a devoted lead.
OVERALL:
I started this drama solely because of the hot chemistry between Ci She and Ren Min in The Rise of Ning. This powerhouse couple did not disappoint. The plot was nothing new and yet I ate it up. The heart-fluttering romance was truly the driving force in this drama, and if you are purely watching for the vibes, I definitely recommend it.
The drama is about Jinzhao, the female lead who, due to a fortune-teller's prediction, was sent away to live with her grandmother. Upon her coming of age ceremony, she is welcomed back home. While dealing with family drama, and outside palace schemes, she catches the eyes of three men. Chen Yanyun, (the male lead) a powerful minister who her grandmother assists. Ye Xian, (the second male lead), an heir from a military family who has a life-long heart condition. Chen Xuanqing (third male lead), a top scholar and male lead’s nephew. As well as, Ji Yao (fourth male lead), her cousin who has doted on her since childhood and helps her throughout the story.
POSITIVE:
- Slow burn was burning real nice! Their marriage age was just as good.
- Mix of romance (at the forefront), family drama, simple palace politics and war (towards the end).
- Reverse Harem. The 4 men loved her differently and all had a significant role in her life.
- Angst. I ate up all the intense confrontational scenes.
- Fantastic fight scenes, including war scenes.
- Satisfying slaps. Probably the most slaps I’ve seen in a historical drama.
- Male lead: calculative, cunning and mature. Morally grey on the surface but it’s actually a green flag. Ci Sha played the role to perfection and Sanye has become one of my top 2026 favourites.
- Female lead: sassy and scheming. What I most loved is that she didn’t let anyone bully her. Ren Min’s best role for sure. Jinzhao has become one of my top 2026 favourites.
- Pretty cinematography and costumes.
NEGATIVE:
- There were lots of issues that were more nuanced than anything. BUT the one thing that truly bugged me was the writing between Jinzhao (FL) and Ye Xian (SML). So, throughout the whole drama, she treated him as nothing more than an ally. And yet in the end he was suddenly her “only special friend” that she suddenly cherished like crazy and displayed strong reactions for??!! The writers totally failed to show me their close bond. It felt weird that while she claimed such grand soulmate friendship, he was openly in love with her?! Look, I actually liked certain aspects of his character, but him whipping her was totally unnecessary and destroyed their bond for me. Plus his manchild behaviour was not it. The potential was there but the writing was off. It would have been better if their relationship was strictly friendship or if he was simply a devoted lead.
OVERALL:
I started this drama solely because of the hot chemistry between Ci She and Ren Min in The Rise of Ning. This powerhouse couple did not disappoint. The plot was nothing new and yet I ate it up. The heart-fluttering romance was truly the driving force in this drama, and if you are purely watching for the vibes, I definitely recommend it.
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