Coroner's Diary

This Drama Hooked Me—And It’s Not Just Another Revenge Plot

I absolutely loved this drama from start to finish. Aside from *The Double*, this is one of the rare dramas I watched entirely for the compelling plot and the brilliant female lead. While it begins with the familiar "family betrayed by politics and the emperor, must seek vengeance" storyline, it quickly evolves into something much deeper and more engaging.
Landy Li delivers a stunning performance as the lead—her character remains remarkably level-headed throughout, which was refreshing. What stood out most was the beautifully paced development of the main couple’s relationship. Their mutual understanding grows gradually, naturally, and meaningfully. I’m not usually a fan of the “love at first sight” trope, but here, it felt genuinely right and perfectly placed.
Ao Rui Peng, the male lead, is equally captivating—supportive, never disrespectful (even during moments of suspicion), and fully invested in his partner. Together, they form a power couple who lift each other up in every way.
The side plots and cases are intelligently crafted, too. I’ve always been curious about how forensics worked before fingerprinting and modern technology, and this show does a brilliant job of exploring that—without ever feeling dragged out.
The ending felt just right. Without a doubt, this drama ranks in my top 10 C-Dramas of all time.

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A well-written drama with intelligent leads, minimal clichés, and engaging character dynamics.

A series with strong leads & secondary leads, no love triangle, no green tea, no unnecessary misunderstandings, no stupid side plots. A story that justifies the title, it sticks to the plot. After a long time, watch a drama where 2nd leads aren't in love with the leads or trying to break them apart.

Yan Chi is smart, calculative, sometimes cunning, a good general. He constantly found himself trapped between politics and his father’s principles, torn between making a choice and protecting his father and his army from political schemes. I liked Ao Rui Peng here more. He played Yan Chi really well.

Qin Wan is smart, mature and judges everything according to law. I loved Landy Li here. Her character was the totally opposite of "The Starry Love"(the only drama that I have watched of hers) character. There she played a carefree, childish, fun-loving but smart FL here she played the opposite of it: mature, patient, smart. 

Yue Ning & Yan Li were fresh of breath air in the series. Loved their banter and carefree nature.  

A reunion of Fan Yue & Mu Jiu. Loved Yan Chi & Mu Jiu relationship. There consent teasing each other about their love lives.

Another best thing about the series is the limited story or zero involvement of annoying supporting characters. Liked that Qin Xiang had zero involvement in Qin Wan, all she could do was to get jealous of Qin Wan. Otherwise, in maximum C-Dramas, her character would be doing a lot of scheming to make the FL life living hell. She deserved that ending of hers.

Yue Ning & Yan Li as well as Mu Jiu & Fu Ling love to disturb our Yan Chi & Qin Wan romantic time, which they rarely get.

One of the best things is that Yue Ning brought the maid to recognize the person who saved her grandmother. Otherwise, in maximum series, it always ends up recognizing the wrong person.

Loved how Yue Ning shut down those Qin bitches by saying my grandma doesn’t even know why you need to visit her. A nice slap to her face.

Loved how Yan Chi secretly observed Qin Wan examining the death body in the carriage as well as arraigning her to examine without her knowledge.

The way Yan Chi prevented Yue Ning from asking to marry Qin Wan by proposing that them be siblings was funny.

Overall, loved watching it.

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A perfect Criminal Investigation x Romance drama

It was such a surprise! My first time seeing an historical of the genre and loved it! I really appreciated how it was executed, how it mainly remained a thriller and the leads stayed focused on their goals til the end. I didn't find any episode boring at all, I enjoyed how we embark on the criminal cases with the leads and get to wonder who did what, why and how. I didn't find any flaw or weird point in all the cases. Really enjoyed the thriller parts. The romance was well introduced and very sweet, we don't have any weird break up because of some misunderstanding. Loved the boldness of the female lead and how the male lead respected her right away and got her back from the start. It makes their bond and their romance even more endearing. They didn't try to change the other but wholeheartedly embraced each other's quirkiness. There are so many characters we end up getting attached to. And the end was something, lol, but very satisfying to me. A happy end. ^-^

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Mystery and romance, what more could you want?

Mystery dramas are one of my favorite genres of all time. I love watching these crimes being solved. The coroner job is also so interesting. As someone who wanted to work in that kind of department made this show all the more enjoyable and interesting. Landi Li did an amazing job portraying her role. Plot twists every episode. really keeps you entertained.

Story :
The story was really well done. The plot of the story was very well written. This drama covers about a girl who witnessed the murder of her parents and decide to take revenge. As the show moves along, more plot twists are introduced. Slowly she starts realizing that there is a deeper and bigger plot behind everything. One thing I really liked about this drama is the mystery portion. Like in a lot of mystery dramas, the mystery and crime solving part gets covered with other things, but in this drama they stayed consistent with it and I appreciate it. I love the way the producers did this drama, the way the main female lead solves the crimes and the male lead helps with it. I also really like that there was no misunderstandings between the main couple. They had trust in each other throughout the whole drama which is so rare and it's what makes this drama so much more adorable. I love how the male lead is so confident and proud of his girlfriend and not trying to belittle her. He appreciates her talents and wants her to shine, he helps her in the shadows to still allow her to do things on her own. I also love the side characters, each character was very well designed. I love how the female lead is not only smart but also confident, she is not afraid to say what is on her mind, and if someone is in the wrong she corrects them without hesitation.

CGI:
The CGI was okay, i didn't see much CGI being used which is good, but the scenes where they were under water wasn't the best but I can look past that because the drama was just soo good. I love the costumes too, they were all styled for each character, with their own unique style. I love how the clothes was styled to fit Yongning princess, cuz she's more of a martial/fighting character, so having outfits that allows her to do that easier is really considerate.

Music :
The music was decent! The songs were pretty good but not as appealing as other dramas.

Acting:
The acting was really good by the cast. Landi Li is such an amazing actor, she really portrayed her role well, being tough but also sweet at the same time. Ao Rei Peng also did a good job, he played his role really well. Everyone played their role well. The emotions felt really natural, the sad parts and funny parts were all well done. I really like the grand princess and the empress dowager, their relationship with each other being sisters and all was so wholesome but also their relationship with the main female lead. It wasn't toxic and they were really supportive and sweet. The main couple was also soo cute. Like i said before, NO MISUNDERSTANDINGS!!! that is literally so rare to find in dramas. The couple's relationship felt really genuine and the chemistry was there. Overall I'd say the acting was really good, no really cringe scenes with bad acting. You can tell the difference between the scenes where they were supposed to be serious and when they were goofing around. Very satisfying to watch.

Ending:
I liked the ending, everyone had their own ending and most was happy. though towards the end, again like the biggest problem i find with dramas and that bothers me a lot is being rushed. I feel as the ending was kind of rushed, where they revealed the biggest mystery and everything moved a little to quick where I kind of got lost. I feel if the drama had two more episodes, the drama would finish a lot better and feel less rushed. There isn't that big of a difference from 38 episodes to 40. But forgetting about that, the ending was really sweet> i love how all the couples got a happy ending and everyone who was like important survived.

Amazing drama!! Loved it, will definitely rewatch in the future!!

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The art of uncovering the truth through autopsy | Upholding justice in the world | Lovely CPs! <3

"What parents should give their children isn't just blood ties, but love and education." - Shen/Qin Wan

Something I am truly grateful about this drama is how they kept the death toll at the lowest and never really killed any of the main cast. I appreciate it so much since unnecessary deaths are often used by some writers as a plot device to make the story more heavy and dark, thus creating areas to insert their crazy plot twists—to me that's simply a nasty and outdated way of writing which plays on the viewers feelings and emotions—so I wanna sincerely thank the director, producer and writers for making this story this way—full of compassion, rationality and magnanimity. That's one hell of a fascinating and awe-striking story right there. <3

The investigation scenes were all impressive! I expected a lot and they delivered. I love how they carefully walk us through the investigation and problem solving process till we reach the mind-blowing resolutions. Just wanna mention that the 1st case "Headless Bride" is my most favorite. It was truly unsettling and an insanely diabolical case. And when Qin Wan patched the charred and broken/dismantled skull up, I lost it...she was spectacular, no doubt about that, but that scene is just heartbreaking for me to watch. A job well done! ~ Also, the puking scenes were overly dramatized yet I find them really funny. Haha!

I also want to talk about some issues/plot holes I find frustrating about Qin Wan. First, on Ep.19 instead of calling for help since someone was stabbed and is dying, she resorted to asking the dying victim who's at fault/murderer...It was accurate but why does she didn't ask for help or to at least get people's attention first? I know that she is the "doctor" but her responding that way is one of the reason why the arson even proceeded—since it's an opportunity. Second is the safety measure tools (whistle & fire signal) that Yan Chi gave her but she never use. I was palpably pissed at every opportunity she could have used it but never did. Grr!

Next topic I wanna talk about is the most significant yet tragic message of this story—There's no "family" within the Imperial family. Watching this drama reminded me how wealth and power feeds on one's greed and how it can completely consume anyone who gets overly exposed to it. It is the source of all evil capable of influencing even the kindest soul to be scheming, cold-hearted and cruel.

"Trusted yet doubted, loyal yet slandered." - Prince Rui/Yan Lin

On a side note, I just wanna say how much I hate Prince Rui (Yan Chi's father) for being stoic and unaffectionate. He made his son suffer till the end just because he's adamant of his views and promises. Men who are proud is fine but men who are unyielding is plain stupid to me. And no, his little diary plot device just doesn't work out very well for me. Outright lame and cowardly.

The other CPs on this drama are great! Although they gave us the bare minimum of their stories yet everything still feels satisfying enough. Yan Li and Yue Ning gave us this love-hate relationship that gradually develops into companionship to lovers. Then Bai Feng and Fu Ling gave us this cute slow-paced progress that fills up my heart whenever they're on screen. P.S. Thank you for not killing any of them. <3

Lastly, thank you for giving us a worthy and satisfying ending. All issues has been addressed (although mostly off-screened) + they provides us updates of the main characters and how their life unfolded after all the chaos.

P.S. I love the main leads kissing scenes—shallow and feather but exudes intensity of their feelings for each other.

"When once virtue doesn't match the position, disaster will surely follow." - Yan Chi

Story - 10, I initially thought of giving this a 9.5 because of the little issues I mentioned above, however, looking back on how I enjoyed it so much, I just don't think it deserves it. I love this drama for its excellent investigation scenes but above more for its beautiful and compact storytelling.

Acting/Cast - 10, I love everyone on this drama and I enjoyed their individual executions as well. Acting is great and so is their synergy as a whole team.

Music - 10, All songs used are wonderful and sounds great. Specially the song used on Ep.15 (Headless Bride case).

Rewatch Value - 10, A drama I won't mind watching again. Will surely recommend.

Overall - 10, Despite the issues I mentioned above, I have decided that it wasn't really that big of a deal to affect my rating of this drama. After all, the story was splendidly narrated and acted; and I am satisfied on how they resolved the conflicts of the story. Wonderful ending as well.

IF you find my review helpful please let me know.

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Don't Forget Your Notepad ;)

The drama truly deserves the highest rating. The plot is incredibly gripping and the pacing is quick. I didn't feel bored for even a second. You do have to pay close attention to the characters' names though. If I watch it a second time, I'll take a piece of paper and write them down. That’ll make it much easier to follow the story later.

What about the actors and their performances? They fit their roles perfectly. The emotions between the three main couples develop slowly but intimately. There's great chemistry between Yan Chi (played by Ruipeng) and Shen Wan (played by Lindy). They trust each other and their love grows deeper and deeper.

And funny enough — Ao Ruipeng’s face conveys such deep emotion that when he’s worried, I feel like an older sister who just wants to hug him right away. He’s a tall guy (1.88m), but sometimes he looks like a cute child. I’m appreciating his acting more and more.

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A beautiful, emotive, happy little drama

A surprising little enjoyable watch!

It’s a good murder mystery show, each of the cases were emotive in their own way, and I’m really liking the train that a lot of c-dramas are on which is the “women are just as capable if not more capable than a man”.

Story starts straight in (a little bit like The Double) where our female lead Shen Wan & her parents are hunted for reasons unknown. Parents die, and Shen Wan takes the identity of Qin Wan to survive and seek revenge.

I really liked Li Landy & her character. She played the smart and kind Wan’er really well. Li Landy is new to me, but I felt that she did have the perfect intelligent & mature (but still clearly young) look. Wan’er is a bit of a perfect character, but there were moments where her taste for revenge would make her think darker thoughts, but they never lasted long. I do wished that I saw more moment of her more emotional and almost more angry side (like that scene in ep 9 with all the skeletons), but overall, still very good, very believable.

Our main man ARP shines in this role as Yan Chi, the king’s nephew. He comes into the show looking like one of those that might never smile, badass young commander of the most formidable border armies. But then HE SMILED, and again, and again. And he is endlessly overprotective of Wan’er, which was very tasty (it’s exactly the kind of thing I’m a sucker for). The romance was faster in this show than most others, but I kinda loved that? If you enjoy proper slow-burn, lots of angst, then this might not be the show for you. The romance is more simple, he sees her, basically falls in love at first sight, becomes impressed by her very quickly (I mean who wouldn’t), and he’s knee deep before he knows it. It sounds rushed, but the show actually did it very well and it didn’t feel like insta-love at all. It felt believable, and real, and I really enjoyed seeing all the different expressions of love, concern, protectiveness, fear, joy and more from ARP. I first saw him in Moonlight Mystique and whilst I didn’t enjoy that show, I enjoyed him. He’s been added to my pretty list.

The cases in this show were interesting, and not at all easy to guess who the perpetrators were. I really enjoyed the plot twists, especially that last case!! Damn! And I didn’t find the show grotesque or anything (but I am also someone who has done real autopsies before so I’m not a fair judge). It did make me laugh how unrealistic some of it was, but it’s a c-drama, and again, most people wouldn’t know what the actual inside of a human body looks like, so that was okay. A LOT of work was put into the camera angles and the way some of those medical/autopsy scenes were shot, and I do want to praise that creativity. I think it really allows the audience to be fully immersed at what was happening rather than just hearing about something happening.

Extra spotlight to all the side characters that felt sick or threw up, those were always funny - especially the evil prince! Hahahaha

Music, as per Chinese dramas, are a 10. My absolute favourite is “Don’t Sigh” by Wang Shaoyun.

SPOILER: this show has an extremely happy ending, no one dies, everyone ends up together, all is happy. Which, depending on what you like, could either feel unrealistic, or actually a welcome relief if you’ve come from a bout of angsty sad shows.

I did quite enjoy this. It’s an easy chill watch and you don’t really need to think too much as the audience. But it was not boring in anyway, they kept it exciting, and the emotions from the show were enough to make me shed a few tears. 9.5!!

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Forensic mystery and romance is surprisingly addictive.

The mix of forensic investigation and romance works way better than I thought it would. The FL is such a strong and clever lead, and watching her skillfully solve cases while navigating the tricky palace politics is honestly so satisfying, she’s smart, determined and never lets anyone underestimate her.
And the ML, I’m completely obsessed with his calm demeanor, intelligence and the moments when his genuine emotions peek through, especially in how he supports and trusts the FL in her investigations.
Their relationship is incredibly well-developed, filled with subtle glances, mutual respect, playful banter and emotional moments that make their connection feel natural and really engaging.
The story slows down a bit when they move to the capital but the romance and character development keep things interesting. I do get why some people have issues with pacing or the predictability later on but for me the first half alone was enough to make me binge. Honestly, it’s refreshing to see a drama that balances mystery, emotional depth, and just a little bit of palace drama without going overboard. It’s the kind of drama that sticks with you long after the last episode ends.

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Love The Female Lead

Amazing female lead. Very good male lead. Amazing writing. Overall, an amazing drama with well written characters, plot, and a smart female lead. Loved it! I love a smart female lead , who isn’t boy obsessed more than anything and this drama delivered on that.

90% of cdramas for some odd reason (sexism) write pathetic female leads or they like to torture the female lead with never ending trauma. Or the worst, is when they write a grown adult female lead that acts like a child and speaks like a toddler. I personally think it’s fetish of sexist writers and it needs to stop.

This drama was so well written. I loved the plot and every character, even the bad ones. Just really mature writing. Pair the writing with the amazing acting and this is one of my top shows of the year. Loved it.

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