I haven't read the novel, so I came in totally blind. I know a lot of people had trouble understanding the plot, and while it's something some people abhor, for me it was a relief. I don't like it when the writers take viewers by the hand and serve them everything on a platter.

Even as someone who hasn't read the novel, I picked up the story quickly. My best advice : don't focus on what you don't know, but on what you learn.

The story is about Ning'er, a young woman with endless ambition that drives her to crush everyone in her path to reach the highest position : Empress. Including Yan Lin, her childhood friend whom she betrays after his family is massacred. Once in power, unfortunately the Emperor fell ill and die. Taking this opportunity, Xie Wei (the royal tutor) and Yan Lin rebelled ─ for a reason not immediately revealed ─ and seized power from Ning'er's hands. Ning'er in a desperate attempt to save the only man she has ever loved, Zhang Zhe (a righteous scholar and official at the Minister of Justice), who has been imprisoned, she makes a deal with Xie Wei, to follow the Emperor in his death, committing suicide in exchange for Zhang Zhe's freedom.

This is where it all begins, once she dies, she wakes up and discovers that she has traveled to the past. This time she decides to avoid making the same mistakes, to make amends and above all to renounce her thirst for power which destroyed her and those close to her before.

Unfortunately, this is where things get tricky, because she remembers past events, past relationships that haven't happened yet, and she has to change the future without herself being caught in the web of machinations of the Xue family, the royal family, the rebels, the Yan family, and above all, the terrifying Xie Wei.

The plot/story and production:

I'm rather divided. On the one hand, I think the background on which the story evolves has been really entertaining, it's an intense struggle for power and a terrible story of families being torn apart, leading to a terrible event 20 years ago that will set the revenge motivations of certain characters on a bloody path. I don't know how to describe the exact tone of this series, because there are truly terrible moments and great strategies that are however shown in a counterproductive way. I think it's more about the way it was filmed - close up, echo voice, slow-motion, bright colors, humor. I felt like I was watching a terrible scene unfold in the most light-hearted production. There was a clash. I think the drama would have benefited from a production similar to "Rise Of the Phoenixes", "The Rebel Princess" something more mature. But overall, the story is entertaining and engaging, I like following its progress and discovering the web of relationships between the characters, past and present.

Acting :

I think the standout here is inevitably Zhang Ling He, who played Xie Wei. This character is a ruthless snake whom the audience cannot help but root for. He is a complex character, who has suffered numerous traumas, but who possesses an iron determination and spirit of justice that nothing will deviate him from his trajectory. Bai Lu in the role of Ning'er did her job perfectly, and if she stands out less than Zhang Ling He, she is no less the star. I liked that she embodied a manipulative young woman in both her lives, who doesn't give in and reciprocates tenfold attacks on anyone who dared to go against her, even if her machinations are still not the best and sometimes likes to bite her in the ass, so to speak. All the secondary characters were up to the task and convincing, I wanted to slap the antagonists myself and hug the poor characters who suffered. The dynamics of several characters are amazing and touching to discover, especially I liked the interactions between Xie Wei and the Yan family, father and son.

Romance :

If romance is not in your face, it is still very present, but for someone like me who isn't into such dramas, I was not bothered. I even found myself rooting for couples. I'll try to keep it short, but in her former life, Ning'er had three men in her life. Yan Lin, her childhood friend whom she was promised to but never loved and betrayed, Zhang Zhe whose good nature she admired and ended up loving, and the Emperor (where virtually nothing of this relationship will be shown in flashbacks or in the current timeline) that she never liked and used as a stepping stone. Among all this, Xie Wei was a rather distant and abstract presence to Ning'er, she was terrified of this man in the past, and for a good part of the series in the present timeline, she continues to be as she can't understand him. It goes without saying that in the present timeline, she has the same suitors except that the emperor is replaced by Xie Wei this time. The love story between her and Xie Wei is one of the biggest slow burns I've witnessed, while they both have quite a few moments throughout the series, they are overshadowed by the fact that Ning'er is terrified of Xie Wei and she likes Zhang Zhe. It took them up until the very last episodes after the 30th to start seeing him as someone she cares about. And I can't say that the set up was ideal, Xie Wei is demanding, and often takes what he wants without tenderness. I didn't like him forcibly kissing her the first time, even though there were extenuating circumstances due to his dementia, nor all the times he was physically harsh with her. It's not romantic. But Xie Wei is a bad guy, was never portrayed in any other way, at least that. From what I know, in the novel, he and Yan Lin are much more brutal so the writers have toned down in the series even if some of it is slightly implied from the little clues if we know what to look for.

However, I was 100% sold by their chemistry from the second they interacted, but beware it's really a slow burn, who just not cute and full of rainbows.

Overall, I liked this drama, it solidified my opinion that Zhang Ling He is made for more ambiguous and complex roles than the one-dimensional do-gooder. His acting really shined here. The story was entertaining, honestly, a good series.