Revenge, slowburn romance, and power struggles
I was wavering between 7,5 and 8 on this. Ended up giving it 8 stars as it was well-made.
It is long; 40 episodes of 45-50 minutes is a lot of time to fill.
When I started watching it, I binged quite a lot of the episodes, but then I started to feel I needed some breaks.
The story has good drive, gives you breathers and climaxes, and even with side-stories and sub-plots the main story is driven forward. It is just that there is a lot happening.
The story follows Xue Fang Fei, who was in a happy marriage with a top scholar (Ye Shi Jie), until the Princess falls for her husband. The powerful Princess sets her up to discredit her name, and forces her husband to kill her. She survives, and is saved by Jiang Li, who has been living apart from her family since she was young after being set up by her step-mother. Jiang Li dies, Xue Fang Fei takes on her identity and promises to bring justice not only to Jiang Li, but also to get revenge for herself.
Back in the capital and the Jiang Li family, she meets several obstacles, but she also finds some true friends and supporters. One of them is the powerful Duke Xiao Heng, who also works with the Emperor to reveal power plays.
The cast is great, and acting is strong too. I do like both Wang Xing Yue in the role of Xiao Heng and Chen Xin Hai as Ye Shi Jie. Both of them deliver convincing performances in their roles. As for the FL played by Wu Jin Yan, she is also a strong actress. It is just that her looks don't sit right with me...I am sorry! The combination of the makeup and her thin, bony features just makes her look unhealthy for me, to the extent that I didn't manage to ignore it. This is my problem, and I haven't really let it affect my rating. Li Meng who starred as Princess Wan Ning delivered a very strong performance.
I found the ending to be a bit weak, but at the same time I am glad they didn't drag it out for another two or three episodes.
Watch this if you like strong female characters, revenge stories and epic tales in a historical setting, with some slow burn romance.
It is long; 40 episodes of 45-50 minutes is a lot of time to fill.
When I started watching it, I binged quite a lot of the episodes, but then I started to feel I needed some breaks.
The story has good drive, gives you breathers and climaxes, and even with side-stories and sub-plots the main story is driven forward. It is just that there is a lot happening.
The story follows Xue Fang Fei, who was in a happy marriage with a top scholar (Ye Shi Jie), until the Princess falls for her husband. The powerful Princess sets her up to discredit her name, and forces her husband to kill her. She survives, and is saved by Jiang Li, who has been living apart from her family since she was young after being set up by her step-mother. Jiang Li dies, Xue Fang Fei takes on her identity and promises to bring justice not only to Jiang Li, but also to get revenge for herself.
Back in the capital and the Jiang Li family, she meets several obstacles, but she also finds some true friends and supporters. One of them is the powerful Duke Xiao Heng, who also works with the Emperor to reveal power plays.
The cast is great, and acting is strong too. I do like both Wang Xing Yue in the role of Xiao Heng and Chen Xin Hai as Ye Shi Jie. Both of them deliver convincing performances in their roles. As for the FL played by Wu Jin Yan, she is also a strong actress. It is just that her looks don't sit right with me...I am sorry! The combination of the makeup and her thin, bony features just makes her look unhealthy for me, to the extent that I didn't manage to ignore it. This is my problem, and I haven't really let it affect my rating. Li Meng who starred as Princess Wan Ning delivered a very strong performance.
I found the ending to be a bit weak, but at the same time I am glad they didn't drag it out for another two or three episodes.
Watch this if you like strong female characters, revenge stories and epic tales in a historical setting, with some slow burn romance.
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