The first part of this drama was phenomenal, the actors were absolutely amazing, the fighting-scenes breathtaking, the chemistry between the leads sizzling, the OST wonderful - I was clearly watching a 9 or 10-drama...
... that is until the death of villain nr. 1, the crown prince. From then on it faded away.
I had the feeling that the writers tried desperately to find a new villain but couldn't decide which one to choose, the story became a little dragging, some characters were overdone (as the King of Xiyan), some characters were just there to fill in whenever they needed someone to help/do something but noone was fit (Luomei), Mei Li died again and again (falling into a coma or else), leaving Jinghe heartbroken again and again ...
And why, just why did she deny him this long? I get the reasons, but at that point they were already clear about it. Some sidestories made it just boring.
The second part was no more than a 6.

It's such a pity, the acting was topnotch! The leads hat an amazing chemistry.

All in all I loved it none the less and absolutely recommend it. The first part is so good you don't want to miss it. Just make do with the second part.