Just like what show in the trailer
I just finished watching this drama with Chinese subtitles.The storyline is based in a historic setting where they meet two friends to solve cases and along the way they find the secret of ML and FL case. Perfect acting skills, sweet romance and interesting story plot. Totally recommend this drama for people who love historic setting and mystery cases.
I really love the ML, for his first drama he expressed the character well and he is really handsome. I do think the ML and FL have perfect chemistry between one another. I watched the behind the scene the ML and FL were comfortable with each other. Hopefully, i can see them act together again!
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love and friends on the way........
This drama is a much-needed drama with a sweet romance to compensate the angst in the recently aired Love and Redemption, and numerous other open-ended dramas. It has a super handsome new actor who is making his debut and it is also one of the many cross-dressing dramas released lately. The story is semi-serious with cute and funny moments littered throughout. The pace is good and the storyline is not complex. It is certainly a very relaxing watch.This is a story about palace power struggle. Right from the start, the antagonist is already made known to the viewers. Though unknown for the protagonists with no concrete proofs that all the mysteries and crimes they’re trying to solve are linked to the antagonist, nonetheless, the eventual outcome does not surprise them.
The Prince of Qi (Zhang Ling He) is a wandering prince who holds no political power. He has a great relationship with his younger brother who is the Emperor, but a nemesis of his uncle who wants the throne. He disguises as a wealthy aristocrat as Pei Zhao and frequents the brothels. There he meets and falls in love with Su Ci (Sebrina Chen) who disguises as a man working as a high-level investigator. Pei Zhao is patient, forgiving, condoning and protective towards Su Ci. He is strategic and very intelligent. Su Ci is upright, unbiased and detailed which makes her a great investigator. Together with their friends, a medical genius, a skilled sword man and the best cook, they make an ideal team with enviable friendship. Right from episode 1, Pei Zhao and Su Ci begin to work hand in hand, literally, solving crimes and unfolding a bigger conspiracy. They’ve never been separated since, everywhere they go, they go together and everything they do, they do it together. It is really very comforting to see they are always at each other’s side and trusting each other. Any misunderstanding is resolved almost as soon as it arises because they are being very honest to each other; it is indeed very heart-warming to see the couple holding hands all the time.
I’m delighted with Zhang Ling He’s portrayal of Pei Zhao/Prince of Qi. This is his first drama but his performance is beyond my expectation, far more convincing than many other more experienced actors. He has a very handsome face and a well built body. Acting as a flamboyant playboy and later as a devoted lover, Zhang Ling He’s performance is believable and lovable. I cannot help myself but looking at his handsome face all the time.
Su Ci has a calling – to find out what had happened seven years ago when her whole tribe was massacred, leaving her the lone survivor. Her investigative prowess helps her unravel the conspiracy and eventually bring justice for her tribe. Sebrina Chen has cross-dressed in several other dramas and she is very convincing, dressing as a man. Having a matter-of-factly demeanor, Sebrina Chen’s portrayal is authentic and wonderful.
The second couple is perhaps the cutest and sweetest side couple. Their love for each other is unmistakable and they help solve many crimes together. The other cast members are both good looking and wonderful in their respective roles. The ending is concluded properly with justice served - the good is being rewarded and the bad is being punished, and the lovers are happily ever after.
This is indeed a very enjoyable drama not to be missed.
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*. *
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One of the best in Cdramas
I love the characters! Especially the main leads. Zhang Li He - is one of my favorite artist nowadays, he is a good actor to think this was his first Drama; his debut yet he was really good portraying the role and so handsome! I will recommend this to my friends who wants Cdramas as well. After this will then watch Sparkle Love. I hope ZLH will have more projects. I will watch out for his future projects. The story, the love team, the sweet scenes on this drama were really good! I hope ZHL will have future main roles like this genre! I soooooo loveeeeeeeeeeeee this drama!!! Kudos to all the artists and the management!!!!Was this review helpful to you?
Nice Light Hearted Romance/Detective Drama
The story is interesting with a mix of romance, prince charming, cross dress, imperial feud, sweet sibling love, cute second lead romance, humor; basically, it's a hearty feel good drama. The acting is great and the chemistry among the actors were good. The back drop production set is beautiful. The detective works are concise and short pieces of a large puzzle that conglomerated for a nice finish. The whole story is short and concise, not drawn out nor dragged out making it a delightfully feel good drama. There are some flash backs but not irritatingly overdosed. There are also a bit of joyful funny moments. I can't say it is something I would re-watch but I can say that it was definitely worth time watching it.Was this review helpful to you?
A cute love story
At first I was hesitant to to see this cdrama series, maybe because the ML is just new as an actor but I read a lot of comments that he was so good looking on the screen and the FL was the main character in My Unicorn (recently cdrama series) So why not? Then I started to open my Ipad and press the WeTV for the Maiden Holmes, Episode 1 was good :-) the music was also goodddd!!! Similar soundtrack to Love and Destiny or The Eternal love of Dream that is why I decided to dig in until the next episodes, again and again until I found out I am in 20 episodes hehehe. The storyline was cute! Its a light heartwarming love stories of the ML and FL, same with the second couple. The 4 main characters are really a good combination plus a loyal assistant of the ML character. A prince ML, a cross dresser official FL, a Physician, A spoiled brat expert in martial arts (2nd lead) and a cute assistant of Prince Qi.For me, this is one of my favorite Cdrama. If you are looking for a light, happy ending series I highly recommend Maiden Holmes :-)
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This review may contain spoilers
A drama to watch when the watch list is empty and it is enjoyable
WHAT I LIKED:- The main couple: I thought the two of them were both goodlooking and cute together. It was nice that there was no rival and they both quickly fell for each other. No angst because of misunderstanding and they basically spend the drama discovering each other's story, sharing cute and romantic moments and supporting and helping and saving each other.
- The story: I thought the story was clear and well developped between the different investigations. Some investigations were linked to the main plot some were not but overall the pace and writing was good enough to make sub plots and plot interesting without being gripping. You don't end each episode with a cliffhanger and dying to see what is going to happen but most episodes were enjoyable.
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE:
- The secondary couple: They were both cute and nice persons and helpful but I felt that they had no other meaning but to be sidekicks. The SML was a bit simple minded and he lacked depth until the last eps were his character took a bigger dimension. The SFL had absolutely no character development and her background was very unclear so beside her poisons she looked very bland. Their love story really suffered from the comparison with the main couple's one.
- The villain: He was a little bit too wordy and did not get his hand dirty while his lackeys were eliminated one after another so he looked not so mighty but rather annoying.
- The drama lacked of punch as most of the time the leads did not look really endangered or challenged.
OVERALL:
It is a drama which does what it has to do: entertain with a consistent story and some sub stories to develop and support the characters. There is a good dose of romance and cute moments too. An OK drama to watch when you are bored. A very decent cdrama with a nice ending I appreciated after watching the Heiress.
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Romance, funny, cross dressing and suspense
This is a light romance comedy with some suspense and plot. The story line is very light and easy to watch. There isn't too heavy suspense and plot, but good enough amount of suspensions are there.I also discovered a new promising super handsome actor named Zhang Ling He. He was only 22 years old when he acted in his very first drama as main roll, yet he acted very mature character despite his real young age. This tells me he is already a super actor at his young age. I found him a bit of younger version of Caesar Wu with little sweetness. Caesar Wu is great to play cold at first yet warmer later type of rolls, but Zhang Ling He is good at more of sweeter rolls. Now I became a big fan of Zhang Lin He as much as fan of Caesar Wu.
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Historical rom-com love story with extremely boring investigation cases
This drama is about the female lead who joins the investigation bureau pretending to be a man in order to gain access to the secret documents related to her painful past. The male lead, who has a hidden identity, joins her in unravelling the crime cases.The first 10 episodes were engaging with a meet-cute love story and mysterious cases on the side. However, with each passing episode, the drama became more and more dull and boring. There were around 5-6 investigation cases in total. The first 2 were ok to watch but afterwards the investigations became too repetitive and predictable. The female lead would touch objects, ask a bunch of questions, walk around and bam, case is solved. I somehow managed to get to episode 24 and then I pretty much skipped 95% of each episode just to see how the story ends.
I loved the male lead. I watched the drama for Zhang Linghe and he did not disappoint me. I love that his character felt unique as he had eye sight problems. At times he reminded me of the cool Daredevil superhero when he was fighting while blindfolded.
The romance was cute and at times felt like a rom-com with many funny moments. It had a strong start but quickly fizzled out. The male lead is a green flag and a feminist who fights for women’s equal rights which was nice to see. But the plot of the drama was all about the investigation cases which were boring and irritated me too much.
POSITIVE:
- Intelligent female lead.
- Green flag male lead who fights for women’s rights.
- Hot kisses between the leads (not a lot but those that were shown were good).
- Sweet romance.
- No love triangles or side characters obsessed with the main leads and trying to break them apart.
- Mix of investigation, romance and comedy.
NEGATIVE:
- Boring, repetitive and predictable investigation cases. Since the plot was all about the cases it made the drama extremely difficult to watch.
- Not enough angst. Plot was boring. Side characters were boring. Love story had a strong start but quickly fizzled out.
- Second couple was ok but nothing special. The drama would have been the same without them.
OVERALL:
This drama was not my cup of tea but it doesn’t mean it was bad. If you like investigation cases with lighthearted romance you might enjoy this more than I did. However if you want to watch an older drama of ZLH, I'd suggest you see Love Crossed instead.
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12/10/2023:
Still a high re-watch value!
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This review may contain spoilers
Strong Female Lead From Beginning to The End
I loved this drama mainly because its rare to hahe a strong female lead, who scrually stays strong throughout the drama. The FL here, she was great, acting as both a male and female, she did such a greta job. Her acting was great, she sold me with her detective role and loved it. From beginning to the end, she just got better.I loved how the ML and FL didn't clash with there roles, though the FL was smart and witty, the ML was great as well truly a great team and we cannot forget the friends/secondary characters everyone's role blended well together and created a beautiful drama. I usually get annoyed with most second couple, but i wasn't with this one, especially the SCFL she was so adorable, loved her.
The story is oretty great, it stuck up until the end, solving one crime after another, its truly entertaining. The MC whenever there were issues they solved it right away, it was great to see that without waiting 10 episodes for issues to be realised, the most you waited was 1.
You should pick this drama up, its nice and lighthearted, if you love mysteries, you'll love this one, and the romance is pretty sweet.
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Love and friendship anchor you and make life beautiful!
I am so sad that this story has come to and end, to put it simply, I loved it. The length of it was perfect even though i'm sad that its ended. It wasn't so short that it felt rushed and they way the plot carried out, they paced it very well so that it was able to fit into a shorter number of episodes and not go on forever. This has become one of my favorite drama's to watch and I could never wait for the next episode to come out. This last one i didn't want to watch because I knew that as soon as I watched it, it would be over. I have never seen these actors in any other dramas before, but they were brilliant, all of the main characters had a connection that shined through and they worked together so well. The two leads each had their own stories and characters which were equally as strong and worked so well, their stories didn't rely on each other, the chemistry between them was almost tangible as well. Their relationship developed throughout the series and yet they were together quite soon and not taking a whole drama to work out their troubles, so you actually got to see how their relationship and lives grow after they are with each other. I love how this story was so different, every romance has it's clichés or stems from them, but this one had so much more to offer. Both of the romances were exciting and sweet, and each of them developed in a realistic way. This drama encompassed everything I love about a drama; a storyline that is well thought out and links things from every episode right through to the end where the mysteries are solved, and lives are connected, it has those twists that you aren't expecting that take several episodes to build up and not just a brief two or three. It has many relationships which are built and showed and not just the main one or two, it would be nice to see a bit more of these relationships building or more memories of how they came about, but I feel like that would have made the drama much longer, I also liked how it had more than one romance, both with clear endings. This drama also had its many comedic moments and was so lighthearted despite the heavy storyline, it was cheerful and there were many smiles as well as tears but not so that it would be anything near a tragedy. I loved that there were many climax's and not just one, this allowed the story to flow easier and seem more realistic. This drama also had its mystery, it's secrets and its action, and I love a good mystery as well as an action with romance and a bit of comedy, and a lighthearted movie with deep moments and tragedy, but to balance them out is usually difficult. Now the only thing I wonder, is if we will see more of these actors brilliant acting in a season two!?! I definitely need more of these sweet and silly scenes in my life, though I do think it will be difficult to top this as the mystery and plot was something that was developed over many years in these characters lives, maybe we can have a bit more of the princess of Beirong? Thank-you all!!!
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