LynnLy
One of the best dramas of 2021
This show had it all..... mystery, some romance, and palace intrigue.
The story centers on Prince An (Xiao Jin Yu), who controls the three judiciaries at a very young age, and the Chu Chu who comes to take the coroner examination. Along the way Chu Chu helps Xiao Jin Yu solve cases from murder, to counterfeiting, to an attempt to overthrow the emperor. Along with them are the second leads Jin Yi and Leng Yu with an occasional inclusion of Xiao Jin Yu's brother Xiao Jin Li.
I'll list all of the best things about the drama.
First for me are the main characters. The 2 leads are well written, fully rounded, mature, and intelligent. Chu Chu may have a rose colored view of the wold but she is no one's fool and is equal to the Prince and his group from the beginning. The two leads work well together, trust each other, and only have the best intentions and concerns for each other. What little understandings they have are normal issues from awkwardness and their different social standings but these never last more than an episode and the 2 actually talk about the issue. It's so refreshing to see a well-rounded and equal couple.... and since stupid, immature, silly FL leads is the worst thing for me, I cannot be more happy with Chu Chu. Added to that are the second leads. Jin YI is Xiao Jin Yu's best friend and confidant. There were a few episodes were you worry about his intentions but again that is resolved immediately and you really get the sense that the ML and the 2nd ML totally respect and trust each other. Added to that is Xiao Jin Li who is a general in the army and basically would do anything to protect his brother, It is refreshing to see two princes not backstabbing their way to the throne and really caring for one another. Another fantastic departure from normal Chines palace dramas that made me love to see the relationship with the 3 main ML. The second FL Leng Yu is a martial artist, that maybe more standard for Chinese dramas, and a town boy but even her character has depth. She protects and becomes friends with Chu Chu along with being the "sister" of the two princes. She is also written to be intelligent and not just a typical female trying to be a male martial artist. In fact all of them each help to solve the crimes together and the underlying plot, and each is important and brings something to resolve the cases, except maybe Xiao Jin Li but he admits he is just a military person,
Which leads me to reason two, the story. This is a very well written drama. All fo the cases from the beginning tie into the overall story so you need to pay attention. veery scene has a reason for being in the story, even Chu Chu's chickens which are not forgotten. The story is constructed to make the cases intestine along with the resolution. I've seen other dramas where the cases were simple, like Miss Truth and sometimes Maiden Holmes, so they were not interesting, or solved in a way that was almost downright strange just to show you how smart the lead was, like My Roommate Is a Detective. These cases make sense but even more the resolution makes sense. Then add to that the fact they all tie into each other makes this a well written story. Plus there is the added bonus of well written leads, and even the supporting cast, I call them the older generation, are well written. I love Xiao Jin Yu's mother and actually wished there was more about her, and Jing Yi's father and mother, along with Chu Chu's family all show a loving and trusting family. Again, all of them love each other and work well together even if they sometimes seem like they are not. The least developed character were the 2 bad people. The first was an over the top character that could be annoying, and the second was never fully defined, like I'm still not certain if he was or wasn't the son of the Duke of Chang, I believe they proved he wasn't, but then what was hi actual motivation? It was just a bit odd. That may be because a lot happens in the final episode and it feels rushed, like that should have been 2 episodes with some explanations.
The weakest part for me where the villains of the show, one being over the top eunuch, I am not giving anything away since it's obvious from the beginning, and then the second villain more of the behind the scenes mastermind but he was never really fleshed out other than the reveal oh he is the bad one, which again was fairly obvious. I really cannot think of anything else.
I highly recommend giving this a try id you liked Maiden Holmes (i did!), Miss Truth (so so for me) or the mystery genre. This has less romance than Maiden Holmes, which was fine since with me, and the mysteries are far better than in Miss Truth. If you want more romance than this may not be for you as the romance is there the whole time with their mutual respect and care for each other, but there is no overt scenes.
The story centers on Prince An (Xiao Jin Yu), who controls the three judiciaries at a very young age, and the Chu Chu who comes to take the coroner examination. Along the way Chu Chu helps Xiao Jin Yu solve cases from murder, to counterfeiting, to an attempt to overthrow the emperor. Along with them are the second leads Jin Yi and Leng Yu with an occasional inclusion of Xiao Jin Yu's brother Xiao Jin Li.
I'll list all of the best things about the drama.
First for me are the main characters. The 2 leads are well written, fully rounded, mature, and intelligent. Chu Chu may have a rose colored view of the wold but she is no one's fool and is equal to the Prince and his group from the beginning. The two leads work well together, trust each other, and only have the best intentions and concerns for each other. What little understandings they have are normal issues from awkwardness and their different social standings but these never last more than an episode and the 2 actually talk about the issue. It's so refreshing to see a well-rounded and equal couple.... and since stupid, immature, silly FL leads is the worst thing for me, I cannot be more happy with Chu Chu. Added to that are the second leads. Jin YI is Xiao Jin Yu's best friend and confidant. There were a few episodes were you worry about his intentions but again that is resolved immediately and you really get the sense that the ML and the 2nd ML totally respect and trust each other. Added to that is Xiao Jin Li who is a general in the army and basically would do anything to protect his brother, It is refreshing to see two princes not backstabbing their way to the throne and really caring for one another. Another fantastic departure from normal Chines palace dramas that made me love to see the relationship with the 3 main ML. The second FL Leng Yu is a martial artist, that maybe more standard for Chinese dramas, and a town boy but even her character has depth. She protects and becomes friends with Chu Chu along with being the "sister" of the two princes. She is also written to be intelligent and not just a typical female trying to be a male martial artist. In fact all of them each help to solve the crimes together and the underlying plot, and each is important and brings something to resolve the cases, except maybe Xiao Jin Li but he admits he is just a military person,
Which leads me to reason two, the story. This is a very well written drama. All fo the cases from the beginning tie into the overall story so you need to pay attention. veery scene has a reason for being in the story, even Chu Chu's chickens which are not forgotten. The story is constructed to make the cases intestine along with the resolution. I've seen other dramas where the cases were simple, like Miss Truth and sometimes Maiden Holmes, so they were not interesting, or solved in a way that was almost downright strange just to show you how smart the lead was, like My Roommate Is a Detective. These cases make sense but even more the resolution makes sense. Then add to that the fact they all tie into each other makes this a well written story. Plus there is the added bonus of well written leads, and even the supporting cast, I call them the older generation, are well written. I love Xiao Jin Yu's mother and actually wished there was more about her, and Jing Yi's father and mother, along with Chu Chu's family all show a loving and trusting family. Again, all of them love each other and work well together even if they sometimes seem like they are not. The least developed character were the 2 bad people. The first was an over the top character that could be annoying, and the second was never fully defined, like I'm still not certain if he was or wasn't the son of the Duke of Chang, I believe they proved he wasn't, but then what was hi actual motivation? It was just a bit odd. That may be because a lot happens in the final episode and it feels rushed, like that should have been 2 episodes with some explanations.
The weakest part for me where the villains of the show, one being over the top eunuch, I am not giving anything away since it's obvious from the beginning, and then the second villain more of the behind the scenes mastermind but he was never really fleshed out other than the reveal oh he is the bad one, which again was fairly obvious. I really cannot think of anything else.
I highly recommend giving this a try id you liked Maiden Holmes (i did!), Miss Truth (so so for me) or the mystery genre. This has less romance than Maiden Holmes, which was fine since with me, and the mysteries are far better than in Miss Truth. If you want more romance than this may not be for you as the romance is there the whole time with their mutual respect and care for each other, but there is no overt scenes.
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