This drama has been on my plan to watch for the longest time mainly because I love the dramas I watch to have romance even if its not just a little and I heard there was no romance so I was hesitant to start .I also heard its tragedy and I always avoid those type of dramas because life is already sad enough ,but I finally decided to make an exception and just start it and see what happens but now I am very glad to have made the right decision.

THINGS I loved
Script;Whoever wrote these script is so brilliant and talented.it was such an intelligent, entertaining and intimate plot that made sure you made attention to the details and it made you use several storyline which were tightly interwoven and did a good job explaining and taking care of loose ends.Flawless dialogue and delievery.
Acting; The acting of cast was amazing, there was no weak link, they all collective did an amazing job to bring to life these characters, they were so believable that I found myself completely emerged into the story.Everyone played their part well even villains, they were well matched.

Characters; I loved most of these characters,their sincerity, loyalty and uniqueness.But the characters that I loved more were:
Meng changsu(AKA Lin she); So Briliant,i fell in love with his character and his mind and his unbreakable will.this is the most intelligent male lead character I have ever had the pleasure of watching.i love how his character stayed consistently smart till the end and they didn't try to dumb him down just for misunderstanding and conflicts to drive the drama along(like we have seen in various dramas).he suffered unspeakable torture and betrayal but he did not let it break him.He plotted, persevered until his ultimate goal was achieved.i only wished by some magic that he got to finally enjoy his after many years of suffering but alas*tears*I knew right from the beginning so I mentally prepared my mind but I still not ready*more tears*
Consort jing; This was the smartest female character to me.she was so smart yet quiet, tolerant yet strategic, she always found a way to say the rights words at the right time and be so calm and settling.she did a lot of behind the scenes work that might not look like much but had a lot of impact.She was the voice of reason to the emperor.she was wise and simply amazing.
Fei lui; this was such an adorable character, any time he came onscreen I couldn't had but smile.i loved his quirks, responses and his childlike actions.Even when he beating up people ,you couldn't help but find him so cute.(its clear that I am very unashamedly biased to him).

Special shouts out to Prince Jing, very rash and sometimes unable to control his emotions but you can doubt his sincerity and loyalty and because this you can tell his going to make a good emperor(at least better than all the options presented)some one said he is the female main lead in this drama, funny but I absolutely agree.the prince who the emperor neglected and overlooked because
Commander Meng; loved him too.such a bubbly, supportive ,caring and honest friend.So loyal to the core and excellent commander.
Princess Nihaug; she is a badass character as well unfortunately she wasn't shown in enough episodes.But from what we saw she is brave, loving and strong.She would been such wonderful partner to Lin she.
Emperor:You always have emperors like this ,hardly seen any emperor I have actually liked in a Chinese drama .He was terrible, incompetent and biased to his children,I can't really say if he was the just evil or simply overly suspicious and jealous of people better than him or just an emperor that knew the evil deeds he did to us and was scared of it coming back to hunt him and it eventually did.he played his role so well and sometimes I found his throwing things when mad funny.How can the emperor know his children when he has so many concubines and children and is only concerned about being the emperor(yes I hate harem things and I know thats how things were then but it was still distasteful.
Lin chen;loyal ,funny friend
Xie yu and Xia jung were really smart villains and I am glad they got that deserved end.
There were so many loyal characters in these drama, that it was so heart warming to watch and the friendships were so beautiful.

Honestly if you are still having doubts about this drama, I am here to tell you that this drama is not overhyped, it deserved any praise and accolades given to it because it is simply outstanding, its a tough drama to beat in terms strong plot line and execution. this drama has flawless writing and dialogues.the scenes progressed smoothly and every backstory was adequately explained that I didn't have to suspend logic and reality like some other dramas.Watch this drama because they actually treated the audience as intelligent people and there was barely any unnecessary scenes but I must warn you it is really sad at the end I cried but it was full circle moment for Lin shu. Even though I know that can't help feeling sad about the main lead but I understand this is the end he wanted for himself.BUT still I blame the writers that wrote such a sad end, notwithstanding that this drama is one of a kind, bittersweet but beautiful and you should definitely give it a go.