The main reason I started on this show was for Reba & Lusi because they both are pretty good when it comes to acting. I have seen Leo in some of his past works, mostly as child counterpart, so I was curious to see how his transition would be here as well. For Yuning, I had never watched any of his works. I had only followed his songs closely as he is one of the household names when it comes to OST. Hence, it was a pleasant surprise watch him act.

Story
I guess most of the reviews had gave a summary of the entire story. I came in with not much knowledge about the history, but from the portrayal, it was evident that Li Shi Min was a great King. The story revolves around Changge's ambitions for revenge at the start when her family was killed in the Xuan Wu Men troupe. Li Shi Min then ascended the throne and while he adored Changge as one of his own, his people are concerned of Changge's existence as a potential threat to the Tang Dynasty. We can see how Changge grew through her adventures from her ordeals in the different states and how she comes to a conclusion herself that her so-called revenge isn't the best option. While she did not fully reconciled with Li Shi Min, she acknowledged his abilities as a King and eventually gave up on her assassination for the greater good of Tang. Her pairing with Leo was cute, but I was hoping there was more deeper scenes between their interactions. I do understand this is a female centric drama revolving around history and fighting for a peaceful era, hence there were lesser background development for some of the male leads in this drama I feel. Overall, the main lead portrayed their roles really well, I will just think that it's the lack of episodes that is limiting their romantic development (though they of course ended up with e/o in the end).

I personally felt the most wholesome developed character will be Leyan. From an innocent and timid Sheriff, to Tang's Princess overnight. I really enjoyed her scenes with Changge and their sisterly bond really touched me. I am glad they didn't let their family fued get in the way of their relationship in the end. Leyan was timid but brave and her transition was evident from the experiences and ordeals she faced as a refugee. She came to realize the importance of her title and vowed to become a great princess for the people of Tang. I personally felt her loveline was the most wholesome and complete one out of the 3 CPs in this drama. She started of having a crush for Shuyu and ended up realizing the one she truly love was Haodou. I guess it's the contrast in their personalities that made them such a good couple despite their limited screentime in the series. Haodou also had his growth from an emotionless, unopinionated imperial guard to someone who can make decisions for himself and eventually able to be with the one he loves. His inferior complex and of course Shuyu had gotten in the way of his feelings for Leyan, otherwise I believed they would have ended up earlier together. Overall, i think Yuning acted out his role on point despite being relatively new in this industry and I really enjoyed his scenes with his father & Leyan. Having watch a few of Lusi's drama, I enjoyed her character portrayal as I have never seen her in a character like this. I really liked Leyan's character as she was an extra character that wasn't included in the novel, but enjoyed the one of the most wholeseome development from all aspects.

Probably the only awkward part I felt for the show will be the use of animations. I fully understand that the rational behind this was to pay tribute to the manhwa author and of course because filming took place during trying times. but i felt, they could have lessen these as it was pretty anti-climatic. Also, i did felt a tad awkward for the 3rd CP whom was the only one that had a "real" kiss scene. somehow i am thankful that the other 2 CP had not had a "real" kiss scene since the 3rd CP ended up being the only one with bad ending lol.

Overall, I would say it's a good watch. It is really a classic female centric story and all the characters are written for a purpose for Changge's growth and development. I personally hope the 2 main couples will have another chance for collaboration in a less historically heavy series because their chemistry is simply over the roof!