Mediocre S2, where the script changes and direction, and comedy seemed forced all the way around, too many added unnecessary scenes and dialogues. Problem starts with the added cliffhanger in S1 (not in novel), which then took so many episodes in the start of S2 to get the story back on track. In the process the story timelines and some of the reveals throughout S2 got changed, too, not for the better. I also found some of the casting/character changes lacking (i.e. Ye Ling Er, Li Hong Cheng, He Zong Wei). I did like the addition of actor Ailei Yu as Deng Zi Yue. The original cast that were in both seasons did good, many excellent portrayals. Some of the S2 music was annoying, which was not the case in S1.

There were many memorable moments in the novel, which I was looking forward to, that got changed or glossed over, i.e. Jiangnan Martial Assembly. In S1, the drama did an excellent depiction of the banquet night of the 100+ poems and ZRY delivered that scene perfectly.

IMO S2 does not live up to S1, and I expect that S3 will be much the same (we'll see). Thankfully the source material (the novel) is the basis for the drama, which is well written with an original storyline, so the screenwriter and production team can't mess it up too badly.

Just my personal opinion after watching S1 a couple years ago, reading the entire novel, rewatching S1 before S2, and just finished watching S2.