This is by far one of the best historical dramas out there, especially if you're looking for something a bit more upbeat than the usual (and a bit less on the catty harem fights.) The story was great, with plenty of twists and turns, but the plot wasn't so complicated that it was hard to follow. The cast did a great job, the sets and costumes were beautiful, just everything about this drama was awesome. I originally started watching for Xu Kai, and while at first I was dismayed he wasn't getting as much screen time, the story was just so good with all the elevated story lines of the "secondary" characters, that I wound up not really minding.