You cannot convince me that I didn't like this drama. Yes, there were a lot of plot holes and there was a lot of repetitiveness, but you cannot convince me that I didn't like it. I always knew about this drama because I am a huge fan of Janice Wu and I started getting into actor Zhang Yu Jian after his role in Please Love Me and knew that they were both in Le Coup de Foudre. I think what scared me away was not knowing if Yu Jian was the main love interest in this drama as well as not wanting to sit through 50 episodes trying to find out. So I ultimately put it aside, until about a week ago when I saw a clip on Instagram between Janice Wu and Zheng Ye Cheng and was like...wait....is that Mo Zha Ta from Love020? And for anyone who knows me, I had such a huge crush on him in that drama and wanted to see him in more things. So I decided, hey, I am already in a drama slump, what is the worse that can happen?

I had okay expectations with this drama, but I wanted to give it a chance because of these three actors, and honestly, this drama was EVERYTHING I needed. It had the elements of a historical drama with a touch of magic (and everyone knows I am a sucker for fantasy love stories). It had Janice Wu being her normal spunky self. And I watched it on Youtube so I am not sure if the subtitles were different from Viki, but the script was so bizarre and funny. I needed a good laugh at the end of the workday and this is where I went. Honestly, I was scared that this drama would take me months to finish, but I binged this drama in a few days because I was so obsessed.

And the only fair way to talk about this drama is in two different parts because it did seem like there were two different stories -

The first 30-something episodes take place in Tang. We are introduced to a spunky girl named Yuan'an who is the daughter of the head of the treasury. We are also introduced to a young police officer named Lan Zhi. Lanzhi, after having a complicated past, has moved up in the ranks and proved himself worthy to be the right hand of the Queen. Together (off the books), Yuan'an and Lanzhi find that even though they have different motivations and morals that guide them, they work well together in order to solve crimes. One mission brings them to a black market where we are introduced to a man named Mu Le who has no memories and is (for a time) mute, which is where Yuan'an decides to buy him as a slave in order to save him from an abusive life. Then for the remaining 30-something episodes, the three of them work together to solve crimes and this evil of the 9 beads.

Then after some time and everything starts to become normal, Mu Le recovers his memories at the cost of losing the ones he made in Tang, which results in this 9 beads evil cycle restarting again but in a new kingdom that is completely fueled by dark magic.

It was this completely new drama after this point, but no one seemed phased. And I have read so many reviews and comments of people saying that this drama should have ended in Tang in 30 episodes, but I would have to disagree. Yes, the first 30-something episodes were very simple and fun, and I feel like after Yuan'an left for this new kingdom on a new quest, she lost her fun and spunky spirit and became this new character altogether. But I do feel that this was necessary and we needed Yuan'an, after everything that happened, to mature and decide what was most important. She was passionate about the people in her life, but she was very young and impressionable and needed something to kick her booty in gear to handle important issues. Not going to lie, even though she would risk her life for her people, she somehow kept hurting Mu Le's feelings over and over again.

Going back to the beginning and talking about the romance in this and how I was scared about starting this because I didn't know who the main love interest was - in a way they both were. I like to believe that deep down she had feelings for both men and obviously they had feelings for her as well, but Yuan'an was very young and her love for both men came out naturally and without realizing that she loved them romantically. But it was obvious who the directors were trying to make end game for Yuan'an just based on conversations that she was having with both men. I also saw a lot of split opinions in the comments about who reviewers wanted her to end up with. In my opinion, I was on team Mu Le, but after he regained his memories. I loved him as well when he was Yuan'an's slave because they had this relationship where they 100% had one another's backs regardless of their statuses, and he never questioned her decisions, but something was missing and he just came off like a devoted slave. It wasn't until after his memories came back that he gained this confidence and this aura that he was his own person that I was like...yes...that yo man. It got to a point where I didn't care if Mu Le ever turned evil, I would probably support him until the end. I just loved his character that much. And don't get me wrong, I also loved the relationship that Yuan'an had with Lanzhi , but I think they would be better as friends. The best way to describe them both is, Lanzhi put the law above everything, where you are guilty until proven innocent, where Yuan'an took the side of you are innocent until proven guilty, which is where they disagreed a lot. Also, Lanzhi knew that Yuan'an was a strong woman, but there were many times where he always wanted her to stay at home and live a happy life as someone's wife, specifically his, while he went into the battlefield and did the hard work. This ultimately strained their relationship, I think, where their highs were high, but their lows were really low. I liked Mu Le because he never questioned Yuan'an and saw her more as a partner.

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And this is where the spoilers come in -

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My favorite part of this drama was in the second half where Yuan'an's mission was to go to this other kingdom and steal back the 9 beads that Mu Le or Prince Ying stolen and ultimately kill him. Yes, the whole element of the drama changed and we are now introduced to a very stubborn and serious Yuan'an who just wants to get revenge from a man that she risked her life for over and over again, who basically put her and her family's life in danger when he stole the beads. Yes, it was annoying at times how clouded her mind was for a good part of the second half, but I loved his new magical world and I loved how we got to see Yuan'an and Mu Le switch places in this new kingdom. But my ULTIMATE favorite part was Yuan'an meeting Prince Ying for the first time again, with no memories of her or their past, and him basically falling in love with her all over again without her trying and with the mission of killing him. AND THEN, when things start to go south and people start to get wind of her plan, she is sent back in time (yes...you heard that right) to before he leaves for Tang, in order to kill him in hopes that if he never went to Tang, he would have never stolen the beads and met Yuan'an. Instead, Yuan'an and Prince Ying get to know one another, before all the corruption of the 9 beds, and they learn about this evil plot against the prince and ultimately helps him survive and once again, they fall in love with one another.

This is why I LOVED this drama. Her going back into the past was weird and out of place with this whole drama, but it ended up being my favorite part. Also, kudos to Zheng Ye Cheng for playing 3 different versions of the same character. You made me fall in love with this tan soft boy prince who had nothing but devotion for Yuan'an. Which is another reason why I picked team Mu Le and not Lanzhi. After everything that happened, Yuan'an and Mu Le went through so many character changes, but their love for one another never faltered. Lanzhi, I felt, didn't go through change, and if anything, as the drama progressed, I started to hate him. Yes, this also routed from my hatred of Ming Hui, but I lost complete respect for Lanzhi when he ultimately gave up the fight and fell in love with Ming Hui. I didn't realize his internal battle was about him not knowing if she truly cared about him or just used him as a pawn. I thought, the whole drama, that his fight was about her just being a terrible person who blackmailed him into marriage and threw tantrums when she didn't get her way which included multiple attempts on Yuan'an's life.

Finally, with the big topic of the ending that everyone is still trying to decipher, here are my only thoughts. I was upset with the ending even though Mu Le kept on foreshadowing it, but the writer did us dirty and I knocked off half a point from the review. BUT, I will say this:

In a world full of dark possession puppet magic, 9 beads controlling the world, people becoming magical animals when exposed to their blood, and time travel....I am 100% positive that Mu Le can find a way back to Yuan'an. The prophet said true love can conquer anything in this world...so I am positive that this open ending is a postitive ending.