Things I loved:

1. Mudan's relationships with her friends
2. Mudan and Jiang Chang Yang's character development as well as the exploration of their ever growing relationship
3. The way conflicts were resolved. Although Mudan suffered a lot, they didn't drag out each plot. For example, the prison camp plot, that was 1.5 - 2 episodes long. They didn't waste my time dwelling on that for 4 episodes.
4. The fact the every action has consequences. For example, Liu Chang and Li You Zhen are miserable at the end of s1 due to their own actions. Li You Zhen can't have children and is resented by her now husband because of the evil ways she tried to target Mudan that backfired. Liu Chang is stuck marrying someone he now hates because he thought the grass was greener on the other side and kept looking down on Mudan.
5. The wedding between Mudan and Jiang Chang Yang, as well as how the two of them handled the new concubine Ning Wang forced on them.
6. The slow burn between the main leads is actually done well despite me being slightly impatient waiting for their love to fully bloom.

Things I liked a lot less:
1. The fact that this is split into two seasons and I might have to wait a year to see the next part
2. The fact that a lot of the stuff in the trailer that I was anticipating won't take place until s2

All in all I give this a 9.5/10 stars.