I absolutely ADORE this drama! It really stole my heart from the first few minutes. Even though some special effects weren't done well (Haha the horse riding scenes XD) I felt that everything else was. The writing and character development is the best I've ever seen in a drama. I kept waiting for the usual gimmicks and stupid moves that all leads make, but there really weren't any. It was so character driven and true to form, none of their basic personalities changed for the purpose of plot, but instead drove the plot. I actually enjoyed the political aspects, and really loved how much everyone cared for each other, even if it's in their own cliques. Not to mention how everyone loved Ruo Xi in their own ways (Maybe not the 9th Prince XD and Crown Prince)
Just the level of detail they put into everything was astounding. The second time I watched it, I noticed little nuances I completely ignored the first time. AGH! I just can't get over how awesome the screen writer for this was! (I know it's based off a book) I've also seen Gong, and found this version a lot better, because of the acting and the characters. The choices the characters made in this were a lot more believable and true to their personalities than the choices made in Gong were. I was really disappointed with Gong to be honest.
Anyways, this wasn't meant to be a review, but it kind of turned out that way and I've written too much to delete it now. I LOVE this drama, it's way up in my favorites for sure. ^.^
