I score 8 on Story just because it doesn't end the way I wanted, which is how the majority of C-dramas ends: there is this willingness to sacrifice ( either something important to you or your own life!)- after watching nearly hundreds of C-dramas, i get it, Chinese audience seems to love the drama/sad ending- I normally read how a c-drama ends to avoid disappointment, and i knew i wouldn't have like the rise of phoenixes's end, so I fast forwarded the last few episodes just because i wanted to finish it.
regardless of this, I would definitely recommend it to everybody, especially to c-dramas beginners because it was my first c-drama , the first that got me hooked to the point that since then i have been watching c-dramas only, paying for Asian streaming channels/app, and only watching costume/historical c-dramas....!!
i have appreciated the beauty of costumes, the elegance of body movements, the slow scenes, the subtle romance going on between the 2 main leads, the fact that for once the wigs worn by the actors didn't look ridiculous nor fake ( a weakness in historical/costume c-dramas!!) . c-dramas are known to have hell lot of episodes; with its 70 episodes, this drama didn't make an exception to this trend; but at any point, it never get boring or too slow but , the many episodes were simply taking you deep down into the character development.... you get very deep into the story, you understand it better, and you don't want it to finish.... but then of course the finale might, to some viewer, leave you unsatisfied and wanting for more...