- Historical setting but no palace intrigue
- Fake / forced by circumstances marriage
- Hate to love relationship with distrust at first and bickering
- ML is with a criminal organization and carries his own investigation for personal motives, smart/cunning with great martial skills
- FL is sassy and independant and not the typical delicate lady
The Romance of Hua Rong is better for the romance and more light hearted, Cinderella Chef has a much better production and overall plot and character writing but has some darker parts.