launev

Not too bad for a short.
I mean the usual issue of plot holes and things you find in a short - but they more than make up for it with the steamy kissing and half-naked ML. I always appreciate a couple where both people actually know how to kiss - so, kudos to these two.
If you are looking for a good filler that is fantasy/rom-com - give I a go - I think you will like it.

Just coming here to say that I loved your review - spot on and made me giggle a bit!

I just finished this and will say I mostly liked it - but there wee some huge flaws
Lets start with with I liked:
Hou Ming Hao is lovely in this - he alone made it worth the watch
While I enjoy the actress who played the FL (loved her in My Journey to You) - I had some really bi issues with the character (will get to this later)
Loved the companion animal characters - they were fantastic
Granny Xun and Master Shen were wonderful
Things I didnt care for:
Mu Tian Ji- just did not care for this character - it was probably the too much pouting early on - she just never grew on me
SOOOO tired of the childhood connection stories - especially the ones where the person becomes obsessed with someone they met once. They become obsessed while the other person doesnt even really remember them. Of corse - this went exactly how we all know it's going to go, which makes it predictable and kind of boring.
Things that bothered me the most:
From the get-go, I had problems with the FL character and how she was written. First off - she has spent her ENTIRE life being a boy and in two short moths at the brothel - she is now super-girly - yeah, no, I dont think so.
FL lying and betrayal. While all cdrams have the inevitable couple gets together and immediately breaks up - this one was bad and had me struggling to the very end to have them come back together. It wasn't just about the lying (although this went on for way too long - all because of her pride). It was the absolute level of betrayal she enacted - she had lied, lied and lied again. He finally lets go, gives her three days to decide, takes her to confess in front of his master, released the Millet Dream in front of her (showing his absolute trust in her) - she then sleeps with him (which is her answer to his three days question that implies she chooses him) - only to immediately after sex go and try and steel the Millet Dream potion. This goes far beyond just - oh I lied to a little bit - it was pure and utter betrayal on her part . To then have him forgive her pretty quickly was just wrong.
And, I get it - she is desperate - but this went to far - especially given - if she had just said she was the one who was poisoned and needed it - he would have just given it to her. I know, I know - that's not as dramatic - but it made the character so unlikeable and I honestly dont see, how anyone would get past that - fiction or not.
This drama starts off pretty good and I enjoyed their initial sassiness with each other (something that gets lost half-way through). Gets messy in the middle and wraps up ok by the end
This character was also annoying with the constant running off in a fit about something - no plan, no ability to protect herself and ALWAYS having to be saved

Oh and then there’s the -lets put the person who has made ALL the wrong decisions in charge cause she’s depressed and needs something to do - like WTF!

Beyond the tearful confession to her brother, so she mouthed the words -but then she runs off and puts herself in danger again - so we dont see any action. She was hopeless

Chen Zhe Yaun NAILED this role - he embodied the first prince. And the carried his story very well though the whole series.
Had mixed feelings about the FL. She nailed the Commander Fu portion of her character and did good win her fight scenes - but she was hit or miss for me in the romantic partner part of her character - sometimes she was good, but in other parts, very stiff.
She also had a very 'robotic' cadence to too many of her line deliveries - just felt like she had memorized a bunch of lines and then spit them out.
Susha Emperor was an interesting character - pure shit of dad and person, but at least he was interesting to watch.
HATED the sister/princess character as soon as she pulled the - I love this guy who I have only met once in my life because he saved me in the desert - I knew I wasn't going to like her. Then moved on to - 'I can change him' - no, no and no! Then comes the betrayal of her family for this guy who has repeatedly told her he doesnt love her - she just never got any better for me.
And I was actually annoyed at all the hate/anger/blame towards Jiangshie for choices SHE made. He didnt ask her to help him escape (she did this all on her own, thinking it would make him like her), he didnt ask her to stay in Jiunxu (in fact he kept trying to get her leave). And while he didnt return her affection - he never treated her badly. Meanwhile - she loses her mind because he doesnt like her and then what does she - more BAD decisions. I had NO sympathy for her at all
The Jiunxu Emperor and Prince - were both really interesting villain characters - both products of a really awful mother
Stated off pretty good - but lost me during the Storm Alliance arc (this just went on too long and most of it felt so unneccesary). Then got messy at the end - usually rushing to wrap things up because they spent too long on other parts of the story that they didnt need too.
Lord Ling and Lady An - hysterical!
Susha Empress - usual story of a family that wanted power - kill off previous empress so she can take her place and then mad that the emperor never loved her and kept things from her - like, seriously, lady - your family killed his first wife - she was such a" tropey' character in that way.

SPOT ON! about the sister - you wrote exactly what I was thinking about her the whole drama

mostly enjoyable - and a bunch of plot holes you have to just let go.
Enjoyed the twist on the rebirth
But was frustrated with relationship with new and old FL. She comes back and acts like she has no idea who this original version of herself is. I mean - she is trying to stop herself from making the same mistakes and, yet, cant seem to figure out how to convince, what is essentially herself - to change her ways. She spends all her time trying to change external forces instead of dealing directly with original self and acts like she has no idea what this woman is thinking - I mean COME ON! its you! you should know exactly what she is thinking and how to change her mind. Had to work hard to just let that go - cause it comes up ALOT.
Rest of it was pretty enjoyable.

one of Zhao Lusi's better modern drama roles - especially the first half. Her portrayal of the person who has based their life on lies and then it all falls apart is done so well.
Middle part once she falls and goes through finding herself - I get it, but it wasn't that interesting to me Them finding their wayback to each other was pretty good.
Could have completely done without the whole sister and the romance - but this is a pretty standard crdrama obsession with second couples - it just wasn't needed for the story, didnt really add anything to it and they spent way too much time on it.
Really - the only part for me that was worth watching was the relationship between the two leads - they both did this so well. Two people who cared for each other - but lied, lied, lied. It all falls apart and they have to find their way back. I pretty much FF'd through the rest of it.
The only part that did annoy about this was her being mad that he lied, while acknowledging she also lied - her excuse was that she loved him - so, for some reason that made her lying more acceptable??
on the flip side - if he had just said earlier that he loved her an apologized - the angst could have ended sooner - but, hey, its a drama, so they have to drag it out.

story was ok - just bad script. Just lazy writing every where and too many plot holes to keep track of
No chemistry with leads and one of the few times that the ML was actually the worse kisser
Villains were just bad in that the acting was ridiculous - especially the male ones
Only plus I can give it is that they at least didnt try and saddle us with a second couple - otherwise - all other tropes that we hate are here.

not a bad story - per se. Gets messy around ep 15-23, then mostly back on track through the end - although very underwhelming ending.
Have to say the whole misunderstanding arc drove me nuts - just that it was poorly done and went on too long. And the FL character basically turns into this stupid, crazy lady starting about ep 15 and takes until ep 23 to clear things up.
Its the typical - she has completely misunderstood something and not ONCE does she explain why she is mad, nor is she willing to hear him out - which is what makes this drag on for far too long. Then, BAM! go out to dinner, she hears his back story and - oops, sorry, I was wrong - my bad! But you still need to apologize (obviously I am exaggerating here - but after 8 eps of torture (literally - she tortures him) - it was less than 2 to resolve)
When together they were cute and I liked how they were a normal couple who couldn't keep their hands off each other and you get lots of kissing scenes - at the same time - they wasn't much sizzle to these - its like they went for quantity over quality (lol!) - there was just something that didn't work with their intimate scenes. Contrast this with the second couple who were on fire!
I would just say that if you like Eddy Geng - give it a go - its sort and goes quickly.

not too bad for a short - was totally worth the watch. But it has some serious plot holes.
Other things that were districting - the absolutely awful hair for the ML - like, WTH was that!
FL and 2ML - both unhealthy skinny - her bare stick arms and his pre-pubescent body were too much to take
Did enjoy the plot twist for FL - although I had it figured out pretty early - but it was still good
Second couple was way steamer the main couple - which is oddly the case in many cdramas

where can one watch this?

The last three episodes were kind of a hot mess - but, otherwise, pretty darn good for a short.
Thought main leads had great chemistry (although no real kissing/intimate scenes)
Gonna have to go see what else these leads have done.
Give a go - totally worth it.

kind of a hot mess, really. Cant tell if it's because of the bad editing, storyline, actors - maybe all of the above.
Storyline didn't work - mostly because they don't explain the transmigration thing well - which is central to the FL character.
Chemistry between leads is sorely lacking (and can we send both these actor to kissing school - what the hell was that!). Both are kind of stiff and not a lot of range.
Another poorly written FL character - trying to go with naive, but just comes across dumb most of time. And I just about stopped watching early on during the early arcs because she NEVER SHUTS UP! I would have hit her at some point - especially since it's the nervous chatter cause she doesn't know how to be in silence + the writers need to have dialogue - just irritating.
Another FL who many of the main guys fall in love with - only because she is nice to them - is no-one ever nice to anybody in cdrama land?? (rhetorical question there - cause, no, they aren't and its the driver of most 'romance' - not being able to distinguish someone being kind with being 'in-love' - I could write a whole dissertation on this). So, beyond that - dont really get her appeal for most of it.
And dont even get me started with the 'brown-face' sh*t - beyond the blatant racism, the idea that simply tanning her skin makes her unrecognizable is ABSURD!
ML character is pretty standard tesundre and this actor isn't one of my faves - but ok.
Villains were stupid. On the ladies side (which is where most of the villains were) - the typical - he didn't like me, so let me burn the world down crazy lady. The mean girl troupe (Celestial Palace girls) and the girl whose jealousy runs amok.
For the guys - which is really just the demon lord - secretly likes the lady who doesnt like him, but mostly just trying to prove he is more powerful. And whoever did this guys hair/wig - um....No!
They just weren't that interesting cause we have seen it a bazillion times in every wuxi/xanxia story and it's not done particularly well here.
Have to say my favorite character was Yaun Yi - although could have done without the romance - but ok (again, weird obsession in cdramas to have secondary romance going on). I would have liked it more if they hadn't made Zhao Ge so childish when they cured her poison. She has stilled lived her previous life and had all her previous experiences. The poison didn't affect her personality - just her appearance - so why the shift? (again, kind of rhetorical as cdramas love to infantalize women - so I get it - but come on!)
HORRIBLE ending - besides dumb, basically negated the whole series.
Ok, enough - I could keep ranting as there is a lot to rant about. I say - go watch at your own peril.

We will just have to disagree on the pace - but that is some interesting logic - i am bored because its too fast a pace?? No, it was just too slow for me. No need to try and explain or make excuses.

Just finished this, but it was a chore. So slow-paced that I kept getting bored and had to go do other things and come back. I think this slowness contributed to my disinterest in most of the characters o f which there were just too many to keep track of.
I thought Cheng Yi did a marvelous job playing the dual characters (although not real clear why - but, ok). Preferred the white-haired Mr Li and it would have been great to get more of his back story - but that is probably a whole other drama. Had the worst luck of having what has to be the two worst brothers EVER!
Next favorite was Yan Kuang Tu, beside Li Chen Zhou - he was the coolest- again - this needs a whole separate drama cause I somehow missed he is Chen Zou's dad!?!?! (according to MDL cast list)
General Wu and Madame Wu rank up there
Not really any exciting or interesting female characters in this - but, honestly, most of the characters in this weren't that interesting. I know it problematic for me when my list for the characters I didnt like far exceeds the characters I do.
One highlight - it does have one really well done fight scenes - not all of them - but enough that are well done to give a shout out to.
Ending is confusing
I dont know - cant say I would recommend this to anyone to watch unless you really, really like slow, wuxi dramas and a fan of Cheng Yi.

yes, I know that - what I said was it FELT like the writers couldn't decide - so it makes the story not flow well

Just finished this and would say it ok to pretty good - mostly because the cooking parts went on too long for me and I didnt find them all that interesting. I get it - the show is about a chef and all - but the repetitive cooking competitions just got old and the idea that she could come up with these brilliant dishes every single time she made a meal got a little absurd.
The competition with Ming cooks in particular just went on way, way too long. And I had a whole other problem with this whole arc beyond the cooking competition - how is it that an entire delegation from China are all Koreans and it was so abundantly clear that Chinese is not their first language - that weird, over-pronouncing, slow speaking style that only comes with a second language.
ML wins the gold star for this show - he rocked it - and given the news that this was a last minute fill-in - makes it even more astounding. Looking forward to seeing him in more things as a main lead.
FL was ok. She did the comedic parts at the beginning very well - but fell flat on the emotional scenes later on. And given that they mostly only have her cooking throughout - males her kind of a one-note character. So, she just wasn't that interesting to me after a bit. Actress did her job - its just how the character was written/directed.
Endings for villains were very satisfactory (usually something that is not done well)
Ending was nice and while it would have been nice for more explanation - not exactly necessary.
I think the biggest problem is they couldn't decide if they wanted to a do a cooking show or a palace intrigue drama - tried to fuse it and it didnt always work. Got too heavy on the cooking and missed some important plot lines on the palace intrigue part and then tried to throw in a romance that got lost amongst all of it.

I just kind of stumbled upon this and it was pretty good for a short
Leads were pretty good and had good chemistry with each other
FL did well in the revenge part of the story, but fell a bit short for me in romance part (just not a lot of emotional range on this front and another Chinese actress that needs to learn how to engage in a kiss)
ML was on point
Loved that we got the satisfying ending for the villains (they usually fail us there)
The biggest problems with this are bad editing and a complete failure in writing in eps 17/18 and the usual rushed ending.
But, overall, I say give it a go - its no bad at all.