Truly enjoyable and never tired of rewatching ! Must watch!!!
I have watched this drama countless time and never get tired of it! Now I’m Rewatching again with my husband and we have such great time together. I would really love to see the ML and FL on another drama similar to this. They are both talented and have great chemistry. The romance moments are just so aaaaa…… super sweet. We, as the viewers are spoiled with these scenes. Thank you mr Director and screen writers…..Very nice story line and even the supporting cast like amok, and the parents are enjoyable to watch. This must be the best parents on Chinese drama…they are funny as well.
Give it a try yourself….you may really enjoy it as I certainly did!
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A gilded cage by any other name plus meet-cute
As a whole, this is an entertaining drama with great OTP chemistry and lots of cute moments. However, once again we have a Chinese drama that fagged in the middle third of the show. Don't get me wrong, it is not the usual mid drama drag as the plot was moving along nicely but it was just the story and setting that became a bit stale.To understand that, we must first discuss what is actually very good about this drama. Within minutes of starting this drama you will be impressed by the cinematography, setting (set design) and lushness of the scenes. It is a rare combination for a Chinese historical drama to nail all three at the same time. This general ambience was carried through the first 1/3 of the show as the relationship of the OTP took shape. It is a good thing that the chemistry between the M/FL are so good as it formed the bed rock that the rest of the show anchored upon. So what is wrong with the middle 1/3 of the show, you asked? The problem is that they must have invested a lot in building the set for the Duke's mansion (or paid a lot to use the already build set) and they just can't leave that place alone. Sure, there were sub plots that is set in the nearby town and a few trips to the "countryside" but again and again, the action comes back to the mansion and it is forever on show (inside and out). The storyline is not helping either as the middle to even the late stage of the show are build around the growing love of the OTP and the vendetta of one scorned lover. There are lots of scheming and backstabbing but we are talking about mostly "storm in a teacup" scale. Sooner or later, you just know that they'd put out one fire and another will be lit somewhere else to make the OTP's life more "interesting".
It is just as well that the later part of the show does move on and take things to a grander scale and some of the action are set off site (hooray!). As I mentioned before, if you have lasted through that middle section, you are fully invested in the OTP's love life and that is why you kept watching. The show does reward us with some skinship and lots of cute moments. The final consummation of their relationship was swoon worthy and it gets better after that but it was a tortured path to get there.
Overall, acting was good but most characters were fairly one dimensional. They played their role well but there are not many twists and turns. This may be a good thing as that dropped some of the potential for angst but they just become tools to move the plot along or inject some romance from another pairing.
One last grumble, why do most villains in Chinese dramas get away with murder (not always figuratively speaking). The main villain of this drama was caught and without a shadow of a doubt of his guilt. He was just packed away to be tried in the capital. IMHO, a duel (to the death) with the ML would have been 100 times more satisfying.
In conclusion, did I enjoyed this show? Yes, on the whole. The skip button was getting a workout in the mid section though. Would I recommend this, yes, with the same caveat.
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Are you still not convinced to watch this Gem? Maybe this will change your mind??
I'm usually that person who forwards most of the drama, especially if it goes up to 50-60 episodes! When I found this on IQIYI, the fact that is only has 29 episodes already got me. Boy was this drama a breath of fresh air!Reasons to watch:
1. The parents! Oh how many times have we watched a drama where the parents are the main antagonist of their children's happiness? This one was definitely different! The ML's parents were one of the best characters in the series. They were understanding, they listen, and they value family. They accepted our FL regardless of her background. FL's adoptive mother too was another great addition. They were all a big factor in our main couple's development as characters.
2. The other side characters - aside from the parents, everyone else has been interesting in the drama. The brother, although he fell in love with our FL, he was happy as long as our main couple are happy. There was no angst, or rivalry between him & FL. I'm glad he had a bit of a happy ending in the end where it was hinted that he might finally found the woman for him. FL's sisters, her doctor friend, her personal maid, the uncles & most especially ML's bodyguard (my favorite character, no doubt!). They all played a part in the story. They were funny, caring, & ready to protect our main couple at all times!
3. Great closure for the antagonists - amazing how the writers didn't just kill off the antagonists just to close out the story. Instead, they showed how karma works & that whatever bad thing you do, will definitely get back to you. The crazy maternal cousin & the 2nd son of the song family both got what they deserve.
4. Amazing chemistry - kisses, kisses, & more kisses! I'm always amazed in dramas with leads who have an amazing chemistry, where you don't even feel that you're just watching fiction. Their love & support for each other has been on point! It took a while before our FL finally realized her feelings for our ML, but boy was it worth the wait! The way he defends her, & explained how he loves her regardless of her background would make you swoon! When our FL encountered a problem at the near end of the series, our ML didn't force her to tell him just because they are husband & wife. Instead, he just waited until she is ready to confide in him, & silently helped his wife through that ordeal.. gaaah!!
Yes, there are small plot holes here & there, but honestly who's counting? Lol. The pregnancy thing though was more funny than annoying since the parents do question why her tummy isn't getting any bigger, but I guess they trust & cherish her so that it isn't even an issue. Although, yes, the fake pregnancy thing was the main reason ML's mother got mad at our FL, for a moment.
Now, if you're still hesitant to watch it, I say go ahead & press play! It's just 29 episodes too so no draggy plots in here. ??
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a well-balanced drama
Story: This show has a good balance of romance, angst, and comedy. The romance is well developed and I love how devoted the ML is to the FL. The angst doesn't drag on like other dramas, but instead it serves its purpose and then its is resolved. The show contains fun comedy and endearing characters. There are plenty of side couples and it has a happy ending.Also I don't know what was the budget of the show but they put in a lot of detail. For example, the wedding is the most extravagant and beautiful that I've seen in a Cdrama. In most dramas we just see the bowing but here we see the whole ceremony.
The drama isn't oversaturated with light nor is there excessive skin smoothing. It was just very nice to look at! One can see that the production team put a lot of work into it.
Acting/Cast: I wasn't familiar with the leads but I thought they did a wonderful job and had great chemistry.
Music: I enjoy the OST- especially the ending theme.
Overall: This is one of the best rom-coms of the year and I would highly recommend
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They Grow on You
The characters were well-played and believable. The chemistry between the couples was great too - and I liked the lengths the story went to for family harmony & happiness. There is a mix of annoyance, laughter, romance (plenty of that), evil... but in the end, it all comes together. Wish they would have spent a little more time tying up the story lines. But I appreciated the twist in fortune.This is worth watching - not too complicated and hard-to-figure. I liked the actors, even the ones I hated in the parts they portrayed.
Looking for something to watch on the weekend? This is it!
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Cute enough lead couple
I did some research and after reading the reviews written by fellow viewers, I decided to give it a go. Pretty pleased with this drama but in my opinion, this drama has very little rewatch value.Watch because:
- male lead is handsome enough
- male lead is truly and sincerely in love which is nice to see as I personally hate players in real life or reel life
- female lead is decent
- plenty of kiss scenes
- true love between lead couple
- quirky doctor Ye Zhi Han is funny and cute to watch on screen
- story moves fairly quickly and has some suspense
- story has happy ending
What I didn’t like:
- fake pregnancy plot line kept on going when it should have ended long time ago
- fake pregnancy plot was annoying to me because I found it draggy and pointless
- the antagonist- Dai Ru Er- was such a foolish woman and I cringed whenever she came on the screen as she was painful to watch
- the silly girl-Song Qin- was immature and painful to watch too
- lead couple took forever to ‘yuan fang’ like why?!
I’d say that this drama should be given a try as it is pretty good actually.
However, rewatch value is negligible.
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A memorable drama with great cinematography, strong characters, and genuine heart
The premise is typical for a romcom historical, but the execution of this drama is perfect. This drama grows on you and becomes unexpectedly moving, sweet, and just incredibly beautiful. Don't give up on it in the early episodes! The ending is satisfying and happy.This is a romcom historical with a personality and distinguishes itself in so many ways.
1) GREAT CINEMATOGRAPHY: I wonder if the cameras are different or comes from making films, because each episode really looks like a film. It doesn't have that look like other romcom historicals. It's really beautiful in the physical settings and the direction of the scenes.
2) STRONG SOUNDTRACK: I'm a believer in how a soundtrack can make or break a drama. Music is so important in building the right mood and tension. Although this drama doesn't have a lot of song variety, this drama does it right and use the music effectively, especially with the ending theme "Stealing Heart" where the vocals are perfectly heartbreaking and the music is moving.
3) LOVEABLE MAIN LEADS:
-Xiong Xiruo is your typical FL who doesn't know how to fight but uses her skills and cleverness to deal with situations. Of course, when she only solves something for the short-term, it can create a bigger problem in the long run...but that's part of the amusement and plot. At the beginning, she comes across as a bit annoying, and some of her actions is a bit too dramatic, but becomes more thoughtful as the drama continues. She becomes more sincere and becomes very adorable in my opinion.
-Li Hongbin is your typical cold ML who faces precarious situations with a calm, arrogant face. After he falls in love though, I completely forgot that that was his original personality! I mean this in a good way haha. He became so sweet and loving once he accepted his own feelings. He's capable and he becomes more thoughtful as well as the drama continues. Both the main characters grow and become very sweet together.
4) AND ENDEARING SUPPORTING CHARACTERS:
There's a lot, but I'll just highlight my favorite ones.
Li Hongbin's parents! Absolute favorites, hands down, from any other historical romcom dramas. They are so funny, so kind, and also just real? Like, they act like how a real, long-time married couple would act. They are very lovable.
Xiong Xiruo's friendship with the doctor is hilarious and also very nice to see. It's refreshing to see a girl/boy relationship that doesn't turn into love. They're like brother and sister, so they have a funny relationship.
Li Hong You is probably the character that I feel lacks a little bit. He is still a good guy and a good character, but doesn't get as much screentime as I hoped toward the end. However, I like that he isn't a conniving hateful kind of brother and instead wishes well for his brother and sister-in-law. I like his own backstory too and his previous loved one.
Li Hongbin's right hand man Amao: I adore him so much because he's hilarious and may look like a slapstick character, but is very capable.
5) A STRAIGHTFORWARD SERIOUS PLOTLINE WITH SWEET ROMANCE: It's only 29 episodes, so the serious plot doesn't get too complicated. There are a couple twists, but it gets resolved in a pretty satisfactory way. The antagonists get what they deserve (although I would argue that one got more than the other one...)
The romance is handled pretty well. Their misunderstandings is established well in the beginning and the lie between Xiong Xiruo and Li Hongbin doesn't last too long. As the summary already indicates, Li Hongbin eventually knows her truth but then the lie continues for the family and it's up to Xiong Xiruo and Li Hongbin to eventually come clean. I think this whole part of the drama is well done as we see that it gets more difficult for the truth comes out when you sincerely care about the people you lied to. The stakes becomes higher as Xiong Xiruo becomes attach to the family. Very well done!
One of my absolute favorite part of this drama was the wedding. It's quite unique compared to the typical Chinese weddings and also the wedding becomes another detail in showing how this city is a bit different from the capital. There are little details that show that this city--that is on the border--has some slight difference in customs, and so, the wedding was a bit different. Even, for example, Li Hongbin's look. I love the little square clip on his head. I don't think I've seen that on other historical male characters.
Note: The comedy is a little rough in the beginning--they had a few of those moments where they make fun of a fat character by making the fat character's entire personality about eating--but some of that crude humor goes away and the comedy gets refined.
It was interesting to me also that this was one of the first dramas where I saw multiple characters who were bigger in size/weight and that these characters were consistent in the show rather than just being one-dimensional one-off characters.
Li Hongbin's father is of bigger size and his main male servant is also of bigger size.
Anyway, this was an enjoyable, very sweet story. I really love the world of this story and how most of the characters really feel complex and have unique personalities. Most of all, I love the lesson of the drama: sincerity is more important than status or heritage. :)
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The Most Entertaining Chinese Drama that I've ever watched
The story is so unique.The chemistry between the OTP very strong.
The acting of all actress and actors are so SUPERB!
All casts really fit to the role.
This drama give me good mood , light but not boring, relaxing but addicting.
Skill of acting of main lead really really EXTRAORDINARY, especially the female lead, she naturally looks so smart but cute at the same time. Really fit to her role.
This drama gives much good value for us. Like once we lie, we'll make another lie bigger and bigger to cover our lie.
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Worth the watch for laughters
It’s refreshing and every chapter has got laughters…well only part without laughters are the villainess’s part because she is just literally supposed to be the worst. Anyway even the villain is funny ?.I love love love every male characters in this show. They are all so charming, handsome and also good in their roles. Ah it’s like heaven when I see the bare body of the second young master. Credits to the assistant always beside the main male lead as he adds up spice to the drama all the time.
Main female lead is also funny at all times and I really love her photogenic memory ability because it helped out in making things interesting. Hate to see weak female leads and she certainly isn’t weak, hence I love her as well.
Ah…maybe I just dislike the villainess who doesn’t repent even until the end…others are awesome ??????????❤️❤️❤️
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ANOTHER HAPPY ENDING
Funny, and I love that it's not too rushed, I enjoyed how this costume drama finished; it's unusual for a series to have a complete, unhurried conclusion. We get a brief glimpse into the future a few years from now; everyone appears content and happy, and even the second master appears to have perhaps found his own match.There is a good acting element even with the secondary lead, notably the parent for ML and FL, who has good chemistry. I like how romantic they are as a couple and how annoying it is with so many lies, haha, but that is pretty much the theme of the drama.
Watching the story unfold is pretty entertaining. not much intense sword fighting or Wuxia. FL is adorable and astute in the lies she tells to protect herself and her family. ML, at first glance, looks so stern and strict, but his appearance fits his role perfectly.
If you are into light and feel good drama, this would work!
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Goodness and innocence wins over rules which made so much difference between upper and lower caste
Story starts with a lie , female protagonist was painter ,and through a drawing, she depicted a story ,one of the story she had depicted about the Duke of her region . When the Duke came to know about this that through her drawing she was insulting her character so she order his son to catch her punished her . She had been caught by his son and to save herself she said a lie and this lie changed their life . Duke'son fall in love with her . Then a love story had started .Drama was sweet and I like it .
Specially the characters of Duke and his wife .
Though they work according to rule and regulations but they had soft side in their heart because of which they bygone her lie.
Each and every character is just perfect.
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A MUST WATCH
I have watched this drama twice, once with low resolution and another with HD. The ML and FL have great chemistry. Considering the ML's first main role since he debuted 2019, it is a great achievement for him. His acting is natural and he delivered Li Hong Bin's character to the tee. FL did a splendid job in delivering her character as Xiong Xi Ruo. A big applaud to them!The cinematography was beautifully portrayed. Colourful and beautiful it was.
Li Hong Bin cold and hard to thaw eldest son of the Duke. He slowly and surely melted by Xiong Xi Ruo. Though marrying Xiong Xi Ruo because of unwanted match for marriage he was already unknowingly fallen for Xiong Xi Ruo. Quietly and many small ways showed he cared and loved her.
Not at all boring. The story moved from one scene to another and every episode was increasingly interesting.
Don't miss out!
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