This drama has now become my all-time favourite. After seeing "Until the end of the moon", I really thought that no other drama can top it in terms of storyline, ost, casting and acting but I have finally found the one to do that.

This drama itself takes place in the Liang state where Wei Zhao (also known as Xiao Wuxia, played by Ren Jia Lun) seeks to find the truth about his father's and family's downfall. Whilst on this journey, an unfortunate girl, Jiang Ci (played by Landy Li) unintentionally foils his plans, leading to their fates intermingling for the rest of the drama. Based on this description alone, you can discern that this is an enemies-to-lovers trope, and it is, and by far, it is my favourite representation of this trope in all the c-dramas that I have seen.

The characters in the series also play their roles extremely well and there was no particular complaint that I could make regarding the acting or execution of these characters. There weren't any plot holes in terms of motive or background of the characters and this made it such a more enjoyable watch as everything that the characters did had a purpose. The actors did an exquisite job in playing their characters -- I really don't think there could be another cast that could pull off this drama as well as this one did. There was a point where I really hated Pei Yan (you'll understand if you watch the drama) so you can really tell that they were mastering their roles.

The plot of the series was also interesting. As it is a historical c-drama, you can expect a lot of politics however, unlike the other c-dramas that bombard you with a bunch of irrelevant side quests that the characters go through, I didn't feel this way about this c-drama. All the politics in this drama served their role wonderfully and it was actually comprehensible and beginner-friendly for all those who are new to this genre of c-dramas. The romance, of course, is there. I don't know how else to put it but it's just the perfect amount of angst, yearning, passion and sincerity.

The ost of this drama OH MY GOODNESS. I cannot express how well they chose their ost. All of the songs as well as where they were placed throughout the drama made it all the more beautiful as the osts really capture the moment on screen; they made the heartwarming scenes even more cutesy and the depressing scenes even more heart-wrenching. They're definitely going into my favourite ost playlist!

All in all, should you watch this drama? Yes. Should you give it your full attention? Yes. Is there any advice I would give to future watchers? 😇😭🤧

Happy Binging!