Pursuit of Jade

A jade totally worth pursuing ❤️

What a wonderful joy ride this drama has been, and this is coming from someone who's read the novel multiple times and is able to make the comparison between the drama and novel.

I'll start with the visuals and the cinematography, I'm just in awe of how amazing this director is with his craft. As a fan of Blossom, I knew his cinematography would not disappoint, but dang, he seriously up an entire level with POJ. Every scene, frame, and transition is with thought and purpose. His style of filming, especially during the first arc of the village life really made me feel like I'm immersed in their world. The glimpses we get of people's lives in the village, really gave off a sense of authenticity and tranquility and just so captivating. I will continue to follow this directors work for sure!

Casting. I cannot emphasize how perfectly casted to have ZLH and TXW as the cold but handsome marquis and the sweet, whimsical, straight forward, no BS, and strong butcher girl, respectively. To not only have 2 visually stunning actors take the lead but also matching the novel's descriptions of them both, is simply peak casting!!! ts almost like the characters were written with them in mind. I'm curious if the author had a say in the casting 🤔.  TXW really stands out from start to finish, she carried out this role exceptionally well and has definitely lived up to the character of Changyu. TXW's emotionally range and versatility is something we don't see in most Cdramas. Bravo my girl! ⭐️⭐️

POJ has had the best overall casting that I've seen in a long time, aside from ZLH and TXW , all the supporting characters, even the child star has had their spotlight moments, every actor/actresses carried out such memorable performances. I'm confident to say that this drama has given a much needed career boost for alot these talented actors.

As for the storyline and plot, I would say the drama follows about 60-70% of the drama at most. In the beginning it appears the drama was choosing to faithfully follow the novel,  besides the early development of Changyu and Xie Zheng's relationship in the village (a very welcome change 🤭), everything else was pretty much on par with the novel's progression in the first arc. Honestly, I think the first arc up to when they reunited at the camp was just excellently done 👌, the pacing and development was so engaging. Unfortunately, it is when they hit the military and Changyu's general arc that it started deviating from the novel and while I don't mind some of these changes, in fact, I even enjoyed some of them,  I just felt there were certain parts they should've been faithful to: an example is when they changed the part where Xie Zheng chooses to break up with Changyu after finding out about her family, how he torments himself physically and mentally, and then goes chasing to be with her after accepting punishment. This was such a emotionally powerful arc that was not portrayed on screen and its such a missed opportunity cause ZLH would've slayed it. 😢 Another scene I would loved to see on screen is their official wedding, it was such a symbolic ending to the novel as the leads started with a fake marriage and ends up falling in love, going through thick and thin, preservere  and finally having their happily ever after. A full circle moment. ❤️

Last but not least, our CP 😍🔥🔥🔥🔥. Seriously don't even know where to start as I'm sooo obsessed with their chemistry!! Even a glance at each other is making my toes curl - yes, big credit goes to the director for his emotionally impactful direction, but like I said before, there is only so much that camera angles and filters can help with bringing out the chemistry, the leads' acting is as equally as important as the director's artistic vision. ZLH and TXW has elevated the level of chemistry in Cdrama and will be hard to match for me. I'm really praying for a second collaboration between this two !!! 🔥🔥🔥😭😭

This is definitely one that I will re-watch ♾️!!!! 😭⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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A bond forged beyond intentions

Pursuit of Jade didn’t just win me over, it settled somewhere deep inside me and refused to leave. It’s the kind of story that starts quietly, almost cautiously, and then slowly wraps itself around you until you realize you’re no longer just watching it, you’re living it. What begins as something calculated, a relationship built on necessity and hidden intentions, transforms into something real, something chosen, something that feels inevitable. And watching that shift happen, step by step, was one of the most beautiful parts of the journey.

The main leads are unforgettable. Not because they’re perfect, but because they feel real in every possible way. Their chemistry isn’t loud or immediate, it lingers in the air, in the pauses, in the way they look at each other when words aren’t enough. Every interaction feels meaningful, layered with tension, softness, and things left unsaid. You don’t just see them fall in love, you feel it growing with them, through pain, trust, distance, and everything they endure together.

But what truly made this drama feel full and alive were all the relationships around them. The other couples brought different shades of love, each one with its own story, its own struggles, its own quiet moments that added depth to the narrative. None of them felt unnecessary. Instead, they made the world feel bigger, richer, more human.

And then there’s the Northwest Pig Butcher Squad. More than a group, they became family. Loud, chaotic, loyal in a way that feels unbreakable. They were there in the lightest moments, making you laugh, and in the darkest ones, holding everything together. Their bond added warmth, heart, and a sense of belonging that made the story feel even more real.

Visually, the drama is breathtaking in a quiet, almost poetic way. The colors, the scenography, the costumes, everything feels intentional. There’s a softness in the calmer scenes and a raw intensity in the more emotional ones, and that contrast creates something incredibly immersive. It’s the kind of drama where even silence feels full.

By the end, I didn’t feel like I had finished a story. I felt like I had lived through something. Like I had to say goodbye to people and a world that had slowly become familiar, almost comforting. And that feeling stayed with me.

10/10 — not just unforgettable, but something I’ll carry with me for a long time. 💫

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Must watch Visual Feast

Storyline can divide into three arc
First arc-
Xigu Lane (Ep 1- Ep 20-Rating 12/10)

Second arc -
Wartime (Ep 21 to Ep 30- Rating 8.5/10)

Third arc-
Palace intrigued (Ep 31- Ep 40- Rating 9.5/10)

What's good
*ML and FL visual and eyes acting
*Very beautiful Cinematography
*Very nice bgm and OSTs
*can connect with every characters
*Decent fight sequence
*Overall plot motive and sum-up ending

What makes unsatisfied
*Fail to show war tactics and tension in second arc
*Lack of epic battle sequence for ML and lack of clean cut epic battle sequence of FL
*Reduce intensity of ML and FL scenes after half of the show
*Cut and shortened one and only ML and FL bed scene
*Glorify predator and victim relationship of second leads with explicit sex scenes, child abuse and two Epic Death Scenes

Highlights of the show

*ML ethereal beauty, feather-crown entry
*FL butcher to Honorable General journey with well executed Epic fight scenes
*Lin 'an town massacre

Overall

A Feeling good drama with very pleasing visual, plot pivotal of balance between love, duty, family and country.
Encourage to cherish peaceful time and showcase the glory of warriors and hell of war.

Have a nice day , Everyone.
Having very good collective viewing experience in this page.
Love you 🤟😘

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Magic happens under this director Zeng Qing Jie

Even though the leads are both really good-looking, most of their past dramas were kind of meh for me. A few were decent enough to finish, but none really made me go “WOW” until this one. I never been impressed by the 傻白甜 roles that Tian Xi Wei always takes on, so thanks to this drama, she can show off her true potential. From wire works, to horseback riding to carrying ML on her back, she definitely lives up to the role.

Honestly, I think director Zeng Qing Jie is the single biggest reason to the drama's success. Everything from the styling and lighting to the storytelling just clicks, and the camera really knows how to capture the leads at their best. Talk about maximizing face cards from leads to the supporting leads!

The opening visuals and music give off a similar vibe to Blossom. The chemistry is very good esp by ep 7, but I wouldn’t say it’s as explosive as Blossom because it's double the episodes so build up needs to be way slower. Its such a fun and enjoyable watch with everything going for it! This is really how I think idol period drama should be made.

Enjoyable characters all around even the evil psycho ones are shippable!

Best memorable scenes outside of ML/FL which I'll be rewatching:
Li Wen Kai saves FL ep 9
FL takes psycho bro hostage ep 18 followed by FL killer fire scene
Li Wen Kai, FL reunion scene ep 23
Yu Qian Qian/Psycho Qi Min ep 21
FL fight scene with pig slaughter comparison ep 30
Qi Ming/SuYuanQing Final scene ep 33
Qi Ming/Yu Qian Qian Final scene ep 40

Too bad there's only 1 Zeng Qing Jie. For sure this is drama of the year for me that I shall be rewatching.

Now that it's over ... I feel a bit empty for weeks to come.

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Pretty Privilege and Biggest disappointment

This drama is the perfect example that if you are beautiful or handsome you can get away with anything. What I mean is this drama is getting 10/10 because is Zhang Linghe and Tian Xiwei if not that it would be at most a 7/10.


I am all for female centric drama only if it’s believable. Fiction does get to a point. Lol they had the butcher girl defeat a season general in 2 strikes . If I had not read the tags would have thought it’s a cultivation deal and she has some mysterious powers.Taht was the first flow

Second is the story line . What was this drama even about . Revenge? War? Politics ?Romance? you couldn’t two because it struggled to grasp one or two concepts and stick to it . It was everywhere and nowhere at once .

Talk about the Feared Marquis of Wuan lmao what a joke. Not even one serious fight scene to show his power but hey the butcher girl is killing everyone 2 weeks after joining the army .


I have a lot to say but in conclusion this a drama that can only be rated 10/10 by a teenager or a fan girl who only cares about looks because that’s all there was to this drama . THUS WHY I SAY PRETTY PRIVILEGE AND BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF 2026

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Started strong, fell off 2/3 of the way through and found itself again at the end

This drama hooked me from episode 1. The chemistry between the leads and the story were so well done. It definitely felt like the production team spent a lot of time developing all the relationships, especially the leads, in the first 25ish episodes. It was obvious the female lead wore the pants in the relationship in the first half of the drama since ML married into her family so I was very much okay with that. But there really needed to have been more scenes showcasing the male lead's strength when his true identity was revealed in the second half of the drama. I do feel like we were robbed of fight scenes from ML.

The drama started to fall off for me around episode 26 because it started focusing more on the politics and developing the story between the Wei and Li counselors. It really came down to pacing here. They should have woven the politics into the beginning scenes more instead of giving us 6-10 episodes of almost all politics. It was hard to stomach since we were already conditioned to see the FL and ML onscreen 95% of the time for the first 26 episodes. It just felt like they were trying to redirect our attention to learning something new more than halfway through the drama and it felt so disjointed.

Maybe one of the reasons why it was extra annoying to have so much FL and ML time but then all of a sudden have that drop off into politics is because despite this shift, the second leads' story was always so well developed. It just felt like they got it all. the scenes, the emotion, the build-up, the angst and of course the SK and DK was absolutely excellent in their acting and portrayal of their roles. It really left me feeling well, if the second leads can get that, why cant the first leads also get that?

The drama picked up for me again around episode 36 because well, surprise surprise, more primary lead time onscreen. Thats really what I needed. Thats not to say the drama was as good as its beginning episodes because it wasnt. The issue was the storytelling at the beginning was acted out, it was shown to the audience. But in the latter episodes in order to clear up all the politics/backstory/misunderstandings, characters had to actually spell it out while reminiscing. Listening to a monologue and trying to understand all the intricacies is very different and less entertaining than seeing it acted out.

Something that made this story really shine was allll the side characters. The ruffians turned brothers were so endearing. Mr and Mrs Zhao caring for FL and her sister really grounded the drama from the start and gave it warmth. Even ML's trusted guard was fantastic. Not to mention the comedy that all these characters gave to the story. Every single one of them was such a joy to watch. Usually when I see an express package come out, fans are quick to speed through the drama because they want to know what happens. But I think for the first time, I'm seeing fans say, I'm going to wait because I dont want it to end. I believe its this sense of safety and nostalgia from the beginning episodes that really left a mark for the audience.

Definitely one of my fave dramas of all time because I'll never forget the obsession of waiting to watch the next episode at the beginning. It simply started out so strong. Perhaps one way around episodes 27-35 being disappointing for me, would have been to wait and binge this drama. It was unfortunate that during that time, only one episode was coming out a day. So we were waiting a whole 24h for a subpar 40-50 min, which really added to the resentment. But had I been able to watch some less desirable episodes quickly and then make my way to the better episodes ahead, I probably wouldn't have felt the sting as much.

Thankful for for this drama and I feel fortunate to have been able to watch this.

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Good But A Classic Case of Poor Pacing

Pursuit of Jade has all the ingredients for a memorable drama: compelling leads, a strong premise, and emotional depth. But in trying to do everything, it ultimately sort of fumbles its own story.

EP 1 - 18
We open in Lin'an (a cosy little village) and before you know it, we have an arranged marriage between 2 good looking people who clearly have some tension. One who is thought to be dead and the one who saved him. A great combination.

We get to play house for a while, butcher pigs, make friends with single moms, build a found family and beat up ex fiances all while fighting off judgemental neighbours and avoiding the problems in the capital like all Marquis and their wives do.

And then slowly but surely, reality catches up to them and they face a major disaster (EP 18).

EP 18 - 27
The next few episodes we see Changyu navigating grief from the horrible massacre of her village people, the loss of her little sister, separation from her husband and the conscription of her loved ones. She perseveres through it all and even gets conscripted into the army as well.

She goes to the camp in EP 24 where she sees Zheng and her little sister and then we spend the next 3 episodes setting BACK her character development and making her look like a fool.

She becomes this reckless, almost arrogant person who somehow thinks it's okay to flout military laws and bait prisoners, and instead of Zheng to allow her to deal with the consequences of her actions, he wants to be whipped in her steed because he's low-key a masochist.

Zheng still lies to her about his identity and then he proceeds to make a bunch of other people lie to her about it as well.

She also DRUGS him before a BATTLE and miraculously kills a GENERAL with no substantial wounds to her person and what does Zheng do when he shows up? Carries her away from the battlefield of course, to go and have a lover's spat because his true identity has now been revealed.

Does she face any repercussions for DRUGGING the Marquis at such a critical time? No, because she's Mrs. Fan Changyu and the rules don't apply to her. After all she was only trying to be a good wife right?

EP 28 - 30
Prince Changxin is finally introduced in EP 28 and by EP 30 he was dead. I kid you not. Just 2 and a half episodes we spare for this guy. This is someone they hadn't even SHOWN since the beginning. This big bad character shrouded in mystery, only to be killed in 2 strikes (as Changyu so humbly likes to remind us) by a 19 yr old who has alarmingly little experience fighting wars and seasoned, battle hardened generals.

She suddenly has superhuman, Avengers type strength and prowess and the fact that Zheng left her to fight him and went after SUI YUANQING of all people only to LOSE him at the end was the cherry on top of our delusional cake.

Notice how there hasn't been much worth mentioning about Zheng well that's because he's basically a background character when he's not interacting with Changyu and even then she overshadows him. He spends a lot of his time sick/riddled with injury and his only character trait is being Changyu's malewife.

EP 30 - 40
At this point, we have 10 episodes left and then suddenly the weight of the capital and it's schemes comes crashing down.

Changyu becomes a commander, the truth about her parentage, the Li clan's alliance with Qi Min, Qi Min betraying the Sui clan, Wei Xuan's parentage, Wei Yan and his past lover, Wei Yan and the puppet Emperor, Qi Min's plans of taking the throne, the truth about Eastern palace fire that happened 17 years ago, the truth about the Chongzhou massacre that also happened 17 years ago, etc.

So many plot lines, stories to follow, truths uncovered, loose ends to wrap up and it all ends up condensed and mushed together with a mildly satisfying ending.

The first half takes its time (maybe a bit too much) building an intense, character driven story with emotional stakes and the second half loses restraint and nuance. It's a bit poorly written and things aren't given the time they deserve. I found myself skipping through the last few episodes just to get the end quickly.

Overall, Pursuit of Jade was a promising watch in the beginning and an exhausting one in the end.

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Magnificent C drama ✨✨✨✨✨✨⭐♥️❣️

Very lovely C-drama. From the very first episode, I got hooked. This drama has a mixture of funny, romantic, deadly, and dangerous emotions, which I really like. The background settings are absolutely gorgeous. Tian Xi Wei looks very cute, and I just love her role as a badass butcher 🔥. Zhang Linghe is so strong, protective, and handsome🫶😍☺️… I just can’t take my eyes off him. I also love Deng Kai is a perfect example of "Dark Romance" I love his obsessive, protective , scheming character so much..I'm head over heels for him completely..I just don't know I love his villain personality so much . I like Lin Muran too ..he is so younger than me but it's okh ..I like him too ...the child actor and actress who played Bao er and Chang Ning is really adorable 😍🥰..I love those childhood sweethearts 🌷...I really want a strong hug from Deng Kai because i know I will feel his warmth by hugging him...damn he is lit 💫..I love the entire team , cast infact Pig Butcher Squad ... Director, screen writer, entire caste , supporting role ...hats off to them ..I really love everything about this drama .

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Started with great hope...but...

Visually saying,this drama is a gem. Cinematography,color grading everything is extremely mesmerizing,all actors/ actresses were looking too good. Almost every scenario was captured in such a poetic way...it was just a feast for eyes.

Even the starting was captivating. The love story beween a butcher girl from a remote village and Marquis of Wan who is injured and under false identity was definitely interesting. The set up of Lin'an village was so good...story pacing was going just right. Both the leads were perfect, good looks paired with good acting.

But the problem started midway when the story shifted from a sweet innocent love story to war situations, palace politics,nasty villains were introduced. Suddenly it became evident our Marquis has little to none activity on warfield, we only know or presume about his past heroism...but in present time he was injured half the time,there was no such example of why he holds such a grand position. On the other hand his wife,the butcher girl who never set foot outside her village,never been in such situations suddenly became general after unbelievably killing enemy general so easily. None of this makes sense.... Or they couldn’t potray it properly, idk. The whole lying/hiding Xie Zheng's identity in the military camp and everyone helping him doing that on a funny note...not amusing. Also Fan Changyu never getting any consequences for literally drugging the Marquis of Wan for stopping him from going to war...unbelievable.

The last arc,political arc was the most frustrating one. So many things were happening all of a sudden, but there was no proper explanation. Weird edits,abrupt cuts,very very underwhelming ending of the villains, so many plotholes, side stories not being explored properly....it was a mess. It definitely needed some more episodes to cover up everything. The ending was not satisfying either, even the alternate ending was abrupt. Couldn’t believe a show that started with so much potential ended with such a bizarre tone.

Another thing I couldn’t digest.. The romanticisation of the relationship between Qi Min and Qianqian. Whatever it was, it was not love from any side. He was an abuser,r*apist.... Why was their scenes more intense,sensual than the main couple? Are we supposed to sympathise with him?? What was the director thinking??

However, it was a pleasant one time watch. I enjoyed the Lin'an arc so much,the female lead was definitely a showstealer,such a good potrayal of Fan Changyu. Zhang Linghe also deserves applause,he looked really good with her.

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Promising start, empty payoff !

I’m pretty strict with the ratings I give because I have high standards when it comes to dramas. Pursuit of Jade had all the ingredients to be amazing, but it ended up falling flat.

The biggest issue is the narrative. It opens up too many plotlines and doesn’t properly develop any of them. The story keeps moving, but without direction, weight, or a clear purpose. It feels like it’s going somewhere, but nothing ever truly lands or gets resolved in a satisfying way.

More than being a bad story, it feels like one that never figured out what it wanted to be. And that’s what makes it so frustrating. The potential was there, but it was wasted.

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what a way to ruin the whole message with the last 20 minutes

what a way to cheapen the whole show with that ending.
This drama started out good, I believe everyone's favourite part must be their village life days, they built something together that felt grounded and very sincere.
I also want to mention Qi Min and Qian Qian, their dynamic was disturbing (but also their chemistryy! so good), but still interesting to watch because of how tragic and psychologically messy it was.

But i have to talk about the ending!
The “what-if” sequence completely undermined everything that came before. By removing her background, her struggles, and the circumstances that shaped her, it should turn her into a fundamentally different person. And yet, the drama still insists they would end up together anyway. It quite literally ruined the whole 40 episodes I just spent watching.
That’s the problem.
It changes the message from a very specific connection, built on who they were, how they met, and what they meant to each other in that moment of their lives to something much more generic: that they would have fallen in love regardless of any of it. ahh pisses me off.

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