The Rise of Ning (2024)

Dreamy, endearing, warm, and comforting. A most deserving rewatch.

To preface: the stars have to align for me to complete a drama, and every year I will finish 1 or 2 while dropping or never starting 10, despite wanting to. But I've definitely watched enough to know what I like - and if you also like quaint, delicate dramas with a little slice-of-life; a sprinkle of action; a bit of romance; and healthy relationships and communication between the main characters and supporting cast: this is for you.

Despite its name being similar to The Rise of Phoenixes, it is NOTHING remotely like that (I almost skipped it because I assumed it was & wasn't ready for heartbreak, until I watched the trailer). Nor is it legendary like Nirvana in Fire, or beautifully polished like The Story of Minglan or Destined.

However, it is absolutely charming and comfortable in its own skin. It reminds me of a fairytale, not in the xianxia way, but nostalgic like a candid photo or memory, or a bedtime story your parents would read to you.

The literal translation of this drama (I think?) is "Splendid Tranquility," and it lives up to its name. It is loosely based on a SUPER makjang novel, yet in spite of all odds, managed to retain the general plot while making the entire ride the coziest, sweetest, cushiest one.

I just LOVE the directorial choices made here. Very nuanced and thoughtfully handled, without too much grandiose flair.

Here are things I believe were done very well:

✳ - The opening:
Coupled with the music, it very much gives you a clear idea of the tone of this story.

✳ - The pacing is perfect.
I have a tremendously hard time watching dramas past the halfway point due to dwindling interest or otherwise, but this one was so easy to breeze through. I've alternated between watching single episodes and binging them like candy (schedule permitting), and it hasn't broken my stride. When it starts to get a teeny bit slow - letting us enjoy the peaceful moments between any new chaos - it quickly picks up and pushes forward.

✳ - The relationship established between the two leads were exceptionally handled.
From the very first episodes as strangers being wary of each other, to building mutual trust, and seeing them banter? Beyond any notion of romance, THIS is what blows me away.

I love how they established trust by helping each other out to achieve their own goals (ex. you help me out, I'll return the favor). It was super fun to watch when they began teaming up regularly, no longer needing to count favors. I was actually hesitant to continue watching this because I adored their current dynamic and interactions, knowing that romance was coming, but when I reached that point and saw how it progressed, it felt very satisfying and reassuring that it didn't disappoint. I love how it played out!

There are many dramas that don't handle the transition well - they focus so much on the tension, and scenes are deliberately meant to be either romance OR platonic, rather than focusing on how human relationships actually develop. Well, this does the latter - what a breath of fresh air.

✳ - The characters and supporting cast's relationships
It's about found family. I want to go further into this as well - I still think it's SO interesting how they chose to portray the male lead's past entirely, as well as his relationships with his sworn brothers. While most dramas will choose to capitalize on this, logically, so the audience can feel a more intimate connection, this one shows us mere glimpses, much akin to reading a tale.

✳ - The fight scenes were unexpectedly clean
I actually didn't expect a slice of life drama, with a family plot and a bit of action, to do this well. Everyone highly rated Who Rules the World, which had martial arts as a focus (it was also one of my favorite dramas!), and I have to say the ones here were executed much more naturally. Yes, I've watched TVB dramas, and no, it might not hold a candle to that, but I am STILL impressed. This was such a treat!

✳ - Naturally, the cast
As with anything, this is completely subjective. This is the first time I've watched anyone here and I really enjoyed it, to the point it's become one of my favorite dramas. I think Ren Min embodied her character very well - a bit cunning, reserved, yet headstrong and curious. Zhang Wan Yi, Ci Sha, and the entire ensemble of family members were also perfect in their roles!


Many dramas strive to keep you in an emotional chokehold and milk your tears (talking about you, Princess of Weiyoung), and to confuse you that your attachment is love, but this one did not. It's kept me completely captivated and engaged without aiming to. And though it hasn't made me cry once, I'm certain I will when I watch the last episode.

With all that said, the most important thing is you don't come in with any set of expectations, simply enjoy it for what it is: a wholesome, sweet story akin to a lovely dream :)

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inconsistent patchwork of trendy/cheap plotlines, motifs and tropes, fails all genres it mixed

Introduced as a family-intrigue drama, the story is supposed to (r)evolve around FL, (Yi)Ning, legitimate daughter of Luo family 2nd House, punished as a child to grow up in countryside, returning to the main mansion from which she was dettached for many years but somehow (it isn't explained) well acquainted with things going on in the family. Her relations with Luo family members are set: father, influenced by his concubine, distrusts her, grandmother adores her, half sister plots against her etc., all motifs already and more credibly used in several other dramas. In this drama, not even one side character is properly introduced or later properly deepened in order to hint to the audience their psychological characteristics, as it was done in The Story of Minglan, drama to which TRON frequently makes references (FL is motherless, her mother's name is an obvious homage to Minglan, father preferring a concubine to a legitimate wife etc.). Eg., not one scene explains the (important) bond between Yi Ning and her grandmother and why they should be so fond of each other.

The only relationship in which the authors put some effort is with her illegitimate and outcasted half brother, ie., with the ML. The first arc, in which FL investigates her mother's death and her real identity, covers more than two thirds of the drama. FL's former love interest (from the times she lived in countryside), powerful Lu Jia Xue, is shown early on in this arc, as a villain of the story, a person she believes ordered her murder (typically, she was thrown down from a cliff when living in the countryside). Being blinded at the time, he is not sure she is the person he desperatly searched for and surprisingly, such a powerful person could not even later discover the identity of the person living in the neighboring courtyard (this plothole will be repeated with her biological father, who despite his powers could not find out the real identity of her mother). FL is shown as perspicacious and wilful, in investigation of her mother's death she even uses herself as a bait, but strangely has zero interest in her own attempted murder and in front LJX she is just a terrorized victim of a psycho-thriller. Numerous lacks of elementary logics in the plotline regarding the FL, as well as huge inconsistencies (the other important one is her different treatment of the ML when he hurts her in comparison to LJX) in how her character was written, makes her unrelatable, unless we are inclined to relate to double-personality-disordered characters (which was certainly not the intention of the authors). It is not the fault of the actress or her voice many people complains about, Ren Min just delievered what she was told to.

The "best father in the world" (her biological father), appearing later on, just added another flat, superficially written and over-simplified character in a row. At that point, I've thought I'd drop it, but was still curious (my curiousity arouse more from the talks on this aspect, here on MDL than from the thrill of the drama) how will end the psycho-triller between FL and LJX. That's the only reason I've endured till the very end and haven't missed the arc covering the ML's investigation and revenge of his teacher. The political plot pending throughout the drama and solved in its last quarter, was more decently written, and despite not being original, it offered a sort of closure, especially for the ML, who is the only "rising" character in this story, from an outcast to a powerful minister, always placing first in the exams, good at problem-solving, skillful fighter, smart and deceitful (for the last trait, not much relatable either). The inconsistency between such a character and his masochistic attitude towards the FL (continuously helping her out, backing her unconditionally) was overshadowed by the actor's perfomance, who played this role totally in his comfort zone, having mastered this type of characters in other dramas. Ci Sha's performance was also very good.

The second couple seemed to belong to another (fluffier) drama, but they are related to the only "character" I've empathised with or more precisely feared for: a goose named Fugui, poor real goose pecking an annoying blue scarf around its neck while performing a goose who may finish in the pot very soon. Their joint purpose was probably to offer some comic relief (and they've jointly failed to achieve the purpose). While the second couple received an (expected) closure, the audience was left with no clue what happened to the goose. Its missing is the ultimate proof of the sloppiness of the creators or better, collectors of pieces of plots frankesteinly glued together into a drama.

P.s. Persons who've read the novel told me the script was an improvement compared to how badly the story was written in the novel. Why on earth would anybody choose to put on screen a badly written novel, trying to improve smth bad from the start?

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They are not Blood Sibling in Episode 8

As other asked, "What! Blood brother and sister (same father but different mother) fell in love?" In Episode 8, Shen Yuan found out that Yi Ning mother was kidnapped, raped, and pregnant with Ning. Then her mother was trying to abort her, but unsuccessful. Ning ended up was born pre-immature and has health issue. Then the romance begins to unfold.

At first I want to drop this story because the person who summarized the story inaccurately. It should be revised to make this story more interesting. So far, it has plot, irony, twist and turn, sense of humor, kung fu, etc. This story has everything. It is better than the story of women jealousy over one man and power struggle.

I think her father killed her mother for money (Dowry) since they don't have feeling for each other. In all the Chinese drama, the women give dowry to the groom. That is in India. China, the groom gives dowry to the bride. That is the same as Thailand. I am a Chinese who was born in Thailand and I understand both culture. When I watch many historical Chinese drama, they confuse me sometimes of the real cultures. Maybe the Communism got it wrong because they kill the culture.

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The Rise of… Third Brother

After watching the whole thing, I really hoped they named this drama with a different title. The Rise of Ning wasn’t t just about Yi Ning. It was mostly about Shen Yuan’s quest to rise up to the top and avenge his teacher and fellow disciple. It’s a beautiful drama. The FL calling Shen Yuan “Third brother” up until the last episode was just kinda weird. I know they’re not blood related, but still. How can you have feelings right away with a person who’s from the same family and you call him “Third brother” all the time? Anyway, I know it’s fiction, and I’m not the writer. The adoptive sibling trope is a little tricky for me. There’s not much romantic scenes between them. Kisses were meh. I wanted to see more. Great acting goes to the actor of Lu Jiaxue. Great job. He really got under my skin. I adored the fight scenes very much. I love the female empowerment message here. Love the characters, especially Duke Ying. Best dad ever! I just wish they didn’t spend so much time on the wedding scenes. We all know what happens in wedding scenes anyway. 40 episodes should have been cut down to 32. A lot of people were complaining about how Yi Ning should be more successful having a business. I mean, she does have a business. They had their struggles. It became successful with the help of her sixth uncle and his wife overtime. We don’t have to see everything. The FL is pretty, but her voice. OMG it’s like listening to a little girl. I get a little distracted by that. Especially when she keeps calling Shen Yuan her brother here. I blame it on the writers. Overall, I’m happy with the ending. I watched this because of Zhang Wan Yi. He’s a great actor to me.

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Nice enough dramas, just a tad too common a theme

Just finished this a few hours ago, and as per the title of my review, the drama is quite good, but the storyline is too common for me, and coming from The Double, the theme is too much the same thing, sometimes it felt like I was watching the same story, just with different actors. The trope is used too much until it was becoming too expected and boring, I even watch the last few episodes in 1.25 speed. And even though the title is The Rise of Ning (I assume it was in relation to the FL), I cant help but felt that in the end, the story is more focused on the rise of Shenyuan, rather than Yining. Lol.

Luckily, despite the storyline being too common, the story is saved by the actors who did a good job with what they have. The chemistry between the ML and FL is there. The ML did a nice enough job even though his role is not that different from that of Cang Xuan in LYF. This is my first time watching Ren Min's drama till the end (I just cannot finish The Longest Promise, there seems to be no chemistry at all between her and XZ, maybe too much of an age gap there) and she did ok. Her acting is consistent, even though sometimes her voice stressed me out a little. Oopsie. The storyline between Yixiu/Lin Mao and Han Xiao seems more interesting sometimes.

The villain is quite weak, and Lu Jiaxue irks me so much with his thick face (which part of she doesn't like you anymore don't you understand you pathetic man??!) I felt like pushing him down the cliff myself. Lol. And the writer seems to be quite fond of introducing the main beef out of nowhere rather than easing into it. The way they introduce Luo Shenyuan's vendetta against clearing up his shifu's case, the earlier love/relationship between LJX and LYN, they were all thrown into your face pretty much without a warning imho.

The mansion is beautiful, especially the Lou Mansion (sometimes it was questionable how a relatively less prominent family like the Luos can afford to stay in such a mansion, even the Duke Ying's mansion can't compare to the Luo Mansion in terms of the grandiosity). The custom is also relatively too strict for such a 'non-prominent' family, like how they seem to carry out the daily greeting and even how Lin Da Niang and Lin Mao's having to bow before a maid of their mother who apparently carries the 'oral message' from the Lin Matriarch. Usually I only see that when the eunuch carries a decree from an Emperor only. Lol.

OST is used extensively throughout the scenes, though it doesn't seem to stuck in my head after the completion of the drama. All in all, it was a fine drama to watch for the first time, it might even be quite good if you are not watching too many of Chinese dramas with the same trope.

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An Inspiration Not An Adaption

I have read the novel, before attempting to watch this drama, so this would contain novel spoilers. You have been warned!

The overarching story premise was very well written, the flow and the progress, while seemingly slow was actually progressing and in a way to make sense. We are introduced to the FL (Luo YiNing) and ML (Luo Shen Yuan), who are siblings born in scholar family during historical times. FL was born as the Legitimate Child, but wasn't liked by her father and was sent away when she was young returning to the family after 10 years has passed, which was the beginning of the story. While ML was an illegitimate child who wasn't even recorded in the genetically book and was never recognized as part of the family scorned by his father, he didn't even have the right to learn how to read from a teacher. Both leads who weren't raised surrounded by love, began to rely on each other, becoming each others pillar.

ML (Luo Shen Yuan) was a diamond in the rough, a prodigy, he was extremely smart, had his own business that was thriving, and was strong martial arts skill. However, he had to do everything under another identity, because he was an illegitimate child, that was not recognized by his family. His own father wouldn't even let him learn how to read, and he self taught himself, with little guidance from a teacher. The most impressive part of this story was not the romance, but the character development of ML and FL, and for ML while he was prodigy, he lacked love/compassionate. He learned to be righteous from his teacher and fellow classmates, but never really had anyone truly care for him. Which FL teaches him, tries to give him, telling him he's not alone and he doesn't have to do everything himself. Which I liked this premise, because novel to FL was obsession (not a very good one), novel ML and drama ML were both born to be politicians, but novel was much more cunning and ruthless. He didn't really care for anyone, but FL, which to be honest, all the characters written in Luo Family was quite dumb or "not very nice people". Nobody in the Luo family really ever treated ML like family, while in the drama, we see how he is accepted. The scene when gets written in to the genealogy book, perfectly filmed, show the nervousness and the moment to be remembered.

What makes this character even more memorable was the actor Zhang Wan Yi, the slight expressions, movements, and the tension he creates in the room OMG, just such an impressive actor. He perfectly acted how ML slowly falls in love with FL, and his slight changes from how his surroundings changes, like when he goes from being an illegitimate child to Legitimate child, become FL's actual brother on paper. He changed the way he walked, and the air around him goes from being nobody to a confident noble scholar.


I also love the portrayal of FL in the drama compared to the novel, the more I read the novel the more annoyed with FL I got. This drama seems to have taken the criticism towards the novel and rewritten FL setting, and they did so in an impressive way, Lets make one thing clear, novel FL was reincarnated after dying at 17 and then spent 20 years as a soul in a hairpin so she knew of some future event. She knew ML would become a prime minister and did everything to treat him well, but she reincarnated into a 7 years old after 7 years she died. She was married before she died and had a husband which is SML, that was well alive in his late 20s. In the drama, instead of starting FL as a 7 years, because no way is anyone watching a grooming process and pedophile happening, they started her off in her teens who came back after being sent away for 10 years. The good thing the production did was avoid mentioning age at all times, which the novel kept mention (aka shes 10, 12, 14 - the main story ended at 15 and she had kids....). During those 10 years she was sent away, she so happen to come in contact with SML, who was blinded because of an injury, and they become close. SML falls in love with her and he was set on marrying her, but some situation happened that led to FL being badly injured believing that SML tried to kill her. SML develops an obsession with her, while FL has moved on and matured from that experience, which was portrayed very well, she was firm toward SML, not even letting the slightest action to hint towards anything except for her personal hobbies/habits. Novel FL will piss you off, supposedly over him, but some how always thinks of him, remember what he likes, and what he did, and the past, what even gave her away was that she remembered that SML went gambling. Drama FL was mature and intelligent, she grew up in a house with only a few maids and developed an independence by herself. So when she came back to the family, she started her own business, navigated herself away from trouble. Her only weak point, was that she was still too soft towards her opponents, and ML will take care of that, but overall she didn't really need saving from ML and there were even instants of her saving ML. The actress really portrayed YiNing as her natural self of caring and her love/care to ML was what gave comfort to ML, that he would even sharing his deepest secrets with. The relationship was mutual and balanced, with no problems at all, even when FL was hiding her assiocation with SML, and he was deeply jealous, he never forced her to say anything.


This is a slow burn drama, for more than half the episodes FL still didn't know ML was not her biological sibling, but what I appreciated was the character growth of the characters. Like how Luo Yi Xiu and Lin Mao (i kind of skipped alot of their story), growth from each other company and to be honest while Luo Yi Yu didn't have much screen time, her character growth was probably the most interesting one. Luo Yi Yu was raised to be a proud scholar girl by her mother madam chen, and madam chen always wanted better for her kids, so her strictness towards her children was suffocating especially to Luo Yi Xiu and Luo Shan Yuan. While YiYu was her mothers perfect child, she initially was slightly arrogant, but she wasn't a bad person when Liu Ming proposed, she initially didn't like him because his family wasn't exactly known/wealthy, nor was he good looking, and he didn't score on the yearly examination. However when encountering a family crisis, he was the only one that didn't ostracize her and she finally understood, to live a good a life you don't need all the other worldly things, just having someone there to stay by you was the most important. I do with they expanded more on how FL finds out shes in love with him, because they kinda of wrapped up everything pretty quickly near the end. The pacing wasn't bad, I wish there was more.

Somethings I do wish they kept in the drama was novel Lin Mao's character setting, they revamped him to a guy whos terrible at studying and in to medicine. However novel Lin Mao was a very interesting character, he was carefree and does pretty crazy thing like he caused an explosion because he was trying to create an elixir XD. Lin Mao characters was smart, but he was very eccentric and liked to do things by impulse. I also wanted them to keep ML confidence, novel ML was confident in everything he did, no matter what trouble FL caused, he always had a back up plan, while drama ML did portray him as smart, they took out the absolute confidence he had in his plans, which to be fair make sense with the character setting they set for him as he does fail.

I highly recommend this drama, do not even bother reading the novel, you will not like it. The character growth and the story flow, is the quality point and you won't get bored of the interactions between characters. There is no misunderstandings and if your a fan of mutual support relationships, this is for you. FL and ML supported each other through out the novel and they never overshadow each other. They both have their expertises and their own strong qualities, and how these qualities come together to support each other is most fascinating to watch.

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Good pacing and acting, nicely-written family stories but disappointing romance

“The Rise of Ning” does have some resemblance to " The Story of Ming Lan” with a focus on family life, a smart female lead, a good-hearted and doting grandmother and in-fighting between the wives. However, it’s a much shorter and lighter version, and might be easier for new C-drama watchers to enjoy.

Plot & Characters:
I really enjoy the happenings at the Luo Household. The pacing of the drama is good with stories revolving around each child, their struggles to be the favorite and the star of the family, and the scheming between the wives. Nothing was actually too crazy and over-the-top. The ‘evil’ women aren’t really that bad, compared to those in other dramas I’ve seen. Thus, it makes for an easy and enjoyable watch. I love the grandmothers and the doting General. The General makes me smile each tie he tries to please his daughter and to make up for lost times. The revenge/investigation plot was fine, but not as tightly-written. I feel the last episode was a little rushed and screentime could have been better distributed with a stronger focus on the crime/villains, than the wedding festivities. For some, our leads might be overly smart and can seem too perfect. But I have to say, I enjoy watching them outsmart everyone and I don’t have to worry too much about them, thus, making this an easy, stress-free watch. Overall, “The Rise of Ning” kept my attention for almost the whole drama when I was binge-watching it.

Romance:
Unfortunately, I am disappointed with the main romance. The leads have better chemistry as siblings than when they’re lovers. I found FL’s transition from sibling love to romantic love too abrupt and out of nowhere. Additionally, I felt a little weird watching the leads together as siblings, yet feel they're a little too intimate. The secret of the birth identity was not revealed until the last ¼ of the drama, thus not allowing enough time for the romance to develop well. If you are looking for cute and fluffy scenes, then you will be even more disappointed. Surprisingly, I am more touched by 2ML’s storyline. I might be the minority here. I don’t find him too annoying despite wanting to be with FL for most of the drama. His scenes with FL were short ones and sporadic. In the end, instead of frowning upon his obsession and shaking my head, I feel bad for him and wish he would have a better ending. Luckily, the secondary romance is a little cuter and much more innocent. They don’t take up too much of the leads screen time and enough to just keep me happy.

Acting:
From the youngest to the oldest, the acting of the whole cast is pretty good. Zhang Wan Yi’s role is more mature and reserved, compared to his role in “Are You The One”. It’s a joy to watch him again especially when he continues to dub his own lines. He has quite a unique voice and his line delivery isn’t bad. Ren Min performed better than when she’s in “The Longest Promise”. I believe she dubbed her own lines as well and she also has quite a unique voice that takes me a little while to get used to. Ci Sha is awesome and that’s why I feel so bad for his character. The rest of the younger supporting cast did fine but the veterans really shine.

Production:
999 Cold medicine must have contributed a lot to the drama’s budget to give us beautiful costumes and sets. The leads clothes and accessories change throughout the drama to reflect their change in socio-economic status. Ren Min is gorgeous in this drama. She has the best make-up out of everyone (everyone else’s is not good) and her clothes are beautiful. Zhang Wan Yi looks dashing (and quite skinny) in his nicely patterned outfits. I love the sets inside the Luo mansion: the gardens, FL and ML’s individual quarters, and all the fixtures and decorations. The wedding scenes are elaborate and I’ve never seen the bride throw chopsticks (like she’s throwing a bouquet of flowers). The fight scenes are OK and I wasn’t really expecting much anyway. “The Rise of Ning” only has 5 songs in the OST and they complemented the scene well. I really like the main theme <安宁> by A-Lin.


I had a pretty good time watching “The Rise of Ning” and I’ll recommend it. Tamper the expectations of romance and don’t expect sizzling chemistry, cute and fluffy scenes or great skinship. But the drama has pretty good acting, stories about families, beautiful clothes, lovely characters and ‘villains’ who are not too infuriating.



Completed: 11/9/2024 - Review #510

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It's good enough to kill time

If you like in-house fighting, ensemble casts and multiple plots this might be the one for you. The first few episodes almost turned me off. It was messy for lack of better words. But once you get passed it, things started getting better.

It's my first time seeing Ren Min in anything but I've seen many people praising her acting chops before. So color me surprised that I find her acting only passable here. Plenty of it has to do with her line delivery. (I've seen many comments on her high pitched voice but that's a non-issue for me, how can I fault her over something she's born with.)
Instead her intonation and inflection feel flat to me and lack of emotion. This flaw is especially exacerbated because her dance partner in this drama Zhang Wanyi is streets ahead of her in terms of voice acting. It's one of his strong points. This is one of the rare instances that made me wish they dubbed the FL. In terms of acting, many times I feel like she's cosplaying here. When I'm told by the script that the FL is smart, I expect layers but her Luo Yining lacks depth and charisma. It's a pity because I have a feeling that this is not her in her full capacity.

Zhang Wanyi is an excellent actor. And I have to give him the most credit because he’s my biggest motivation to keep tuning in. As an actor he's grounded, understand his character well, and very good at conveying emotions through his expressions and small gestures. In this drama I want Luo Shenyuan to succeed more than anything, for his family who always looks down on him to eat crow and for his enemy to fall.

The chemistry and rapport between the leads are nice and easy which I think is fitting because they started as faux siblings.

Lu Jiaxue is supposed to be a domineering character and Chisa did a good job to make me feel really annoyed at how overbearing and oppressive Jiaxue is.

As an ensemble drama, the other supporting characters are good and mostly suited their roles. You'll like the ones you're supposed to root for and will most probably hate those you're meant to hate.

In conclusion, this series is a bit frustrating for me because it has potential to be so much more, but it's not. But the good parts outweighed the bad parts so it's still worth to check out.

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Love Moves in Mysterious Ways

The narrative revolves around the Luo family, as each member strives to establish their position within the household.

I will always support a strong, witty, and smart lead. FL doesn't always rely on the ML, but she has the ability to stand independently.

Definitely my favorite is Zhang Wan Yi because of his wonderful microexpressions. This guy knows how to use his eyes to captivate the audience. Ren Min also did a wonderful job. I recognize her as Princess Huiro from TSOPJ, and she has significantly improved.

What I really love is the plot itself. The plot delves into the past and effectively resolves every issue. Another noteworthy aspect is the meticulous handling of the sibling relationship between the leads. They are aware of their boundaries, and in the end, the anticipation of becoming a true couple is well worth the wait.

Everyone did a fantastic job. They got their own spotlight. Even Duke Ying, who appeared after 20+ episodes, became the greatest dad ever. 

We highly recommend this if you love The Story of Minglan, The Sword, and the Brocade.

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