The first half of the story was fantastic. The focus on the characters coming to care for each other, the Liudao brothers' easy camaraderie, the warm and affectionate relationship between the main leads, the feminist themes and the mentorship between Ruyi and the Princess were all so enjoyable to watch.

Sadly I feel that the story lost steam halfway. The group took way too long getting to the An Empire, and once there, the introduction of LTG and Chu Yue (though I enjoyed their performances) weakened the plot and made it draggy. The script is best when focusing on the characters, their relationships and their growth. For some reason the scriptwriter or director lost sight of that and began focusing on politicking in the second half, making it a rather tedious watch.

Then there is the ending. There is a lot of debate about whether the ending was 'good' or not. I think it was a poor ending. The characters made decisions inconsistent with their previously very consistent characterizations, and some died in rather unsatisfying ways. I fast forwarded from episode 28ish onwards as the show felt very draggy and a bit of a mess.

Still, for the fun I had in the first half, I'm giving this an 8.5. IMO this show is very rewatchable before the sad ending for the funny shenanigans and the heartwarming bonds between all the characters.

Side note but LTG reminds me of every obsessed yandere abandonment issue disciple in every cnovel bl ever lol. He has Luo Binghe vibes.