i have seen this more times than i can remember and i will watch it a lot more. this series is so perfect from the acting, the music, the scenery to the story, the plot, and the ending. usually, i don't like things that go back and forth with time frames but this is not confusing at all - it's very easy to understand what time frame the series is in at that moment. so, don't worry about that when thinking about watching this. also, i am not someone who ever watches period dramas bcs i find them rather boring with all the talking but this was never really boring even when there's a lot of talking in one scene. so it has a good interesting script.

the acting between the two leads is spectacular. the only acting i didn't really like was from Jiang Cheng's and Yan Li's characters. But they still did a great job. so good acting overall. the music is also beautiful! i never pay attention to music in tv but i just have to really listen to the music in this series - it is so nice.

really, the only complaint i have about this series is the fact that it's not a BL like the novel is. BUT... if you really pay attention and understand the meaning of some things, there is a bit of queer-coding in this series. just nothing outright queer since it is a China-made series.

anyways, i recommend this series to bl and non-bl fans. it really is one of the best Chinese series of all time!