Many viewers drop this wonderful drama at the beginning episode because they don’t like the main characters – a crass and fearsome female lead and a timid and fearful male lead. After reading my review, I hope viewers give this drama a chance and I hope you would not be disappointed. This drama does remind me of many real couples from the older generations (for younger generations, they would have divorced each other) with strong empress dowagers for wives and scaredy-cats for husbands.

Hu Jiao (Zhang Hanyun) is illiterate, unsophisticated and fierce, for she is a butcher and also a shrewd business lady and knows how to fend off enemies and protect her family. She is betrothed to Xu Qingjia (Tong Mengshi) since both were children. Xu Qingjia is a learned man, poor and rather faint-hearted. He is appointed as a lowly magistrate in another small city, and after their wedding, the couple moves to live in that city. Their relationship started off rather hostile as Hu Jiao is unwilling to marry without love to such a weakling for a husband; she is a lot stronger than him physically. And how she treats Xu Qingjia is almost like a slapstick comedy at the initial part of the drama; multiple times she strikes him faint because she doesn’t want him to get near her. The scenes are hilarious. In their journey struggling through hardship and danger, they grow to trust and love each other. At the moments of despair or weakness, they give each other courage, and energize each other; she's his mental support, and he hers.

Though both female and male leads have totally different traits, they complement and supplement each other like a toothed gear working in harmony and precision. Both are honorable, upstanding, wise, strong and courageous. They believe in one simple philosophy: 尽人事安天命 or “do your best”. With their magnanimity, they convert enemies into alliances, and serendipity follows.

This is a new cast for me but I have enjoyed everyone’s acting here. Zhang Hanyun puts up a very believable Hu Jiao, and her knife skills, either in mincing her pork or shaving the scoundrels’ hair, are very convincing and funny. Tong Mengshi’s Xu Qingjia is humble and lovable. As much as I love the main characters, my favorite character is Gao Zheng (Chen Yilong), the county lieutenant sheriff. This is one of the best supporting actors I’ve seen. Gao Zheng is cold faced with no emotions, and yet, when he’s ticked, by words or actions, the skin on his side forehead jerks subtly, even for an ephemeral moment, showing viewers that indeed this man has deep hidden feelings. This drama also gives us some very lovely side couples. I love the story of Gao Zheng and Yu Niang (Zeng Yixuan); it is beautiful and heart-wrenching. Though kissing scenes are very limited here, the emotions shown in the actors’ eyes, especially in Chen Yilong’s (Gao Zheng) and Zeng Yixuan’s (Yu Niang) when they look into each other, are authentic and believable.

My Verdict

The writer has a great sense of humor. Many of the characters have very funny names representing the characteristics of the characters. Hu Jiao has the homophone of “peppercorn”, Qingjia (homophone) means “in-law”. And there is the Zhen Fugui (Truly prosperous) shop keeper, Jia Yi (Pretend), Jia Quan (Fake Power) the powerless housekeeper, Fei Jing (Strenuous) the failed thief, Hua Tuo the herb collector (Hua Tuo was a very famous miracle doctor during the Three Kingdoms period), and others.

At the beginning while the characters are being introduced, the viewers are not given a hint whether the introduced characters are protagonists or antagonists. Initially I even thought Hu Jiao’s father was bad because he forces her to marry Xu Qingjia. And we have a very funny blackface thief (whom I have thought harmless but turns out deadly) who has never been successful in stealing Xu Qingjia’s umbrella. Then we have a tea house owner whom I had thought a loose woman. Even Cui Wulang and Ning Wang seem flirtatious and unworthy. The writer even teases the viewers with some seeming bromance. All the characters turn out to be rather surprises as they are not what they seem to be.

Do not be deterred by some negative comments here on MDL. This is actually a very good and funny drama with an interesting plot and story. There are very few noticeable plot holes and the logic is sound.

Our characters embrace a courageous risk taking approach as how they perceive what it means to be a worthy human, and that's the message of the story.

Amazing watch. Don’t miss it. Bravo!