A lot of people criticized this show for casting older 40+ y/o actors to play teenagers. This is the least of the show's problems. Although I like Zhang Ziyi, she is not an extraordinarily beautiful woman as Wang Xuan is supposed to be, and of whose unmatched beauty we were constantly reminded throughout the show. There are plenty of prettier and younger actresses who would've been more suited for the role. For this reason, I think Ziyi was miscast. Everyone else was on point. It was very refreshing to see a more mature actor playing the role of a battle-hardened, undefeated general, instead of a 20+ y/o idol with mediocre acting skills and baby fat still intact.

** SPOILERS **

The titular Wang Xuan/Awu "rebel princess" hit her peak character development half-way through the show. She matured from a care-free and spoiled princess to a level-headed young woman who learned the meaning of duty and country and was able to skillfully navigate through the court intrigue. Wang Xuan wielded the power of the Wang clan to shape the course of the empire and produce future kings. Unfortunately, after Ma Zilong took the throne, her character was reduced to nothing more than a beautiful object of men's desires with an abnormally large number of braindead males chasing after her. Even the mighty Helan Zhen regressed from an arrogant warrior to a lovesick fool bringing her wedding dresses and begging her to love him. One of the most ridiculous twists was Song Huaien going through a 180, becoming a traitor and wanting Awu to be his "empress". What a way to turn an interesting character into a cliche. The drama basically dumbed down from a political thriller-ish to an uninteresting soap opera regurgitating the same old tropes.

One of the dumbest things about the drama was a complete lack of insight from most characters. They either wanted Awu or to kill Xiao Qi. Wanting to kill Xiao Qi was an especially ridiculous plot idea because he was the only honorable and loyal subject who was the less likely to usurp the throne. Yet, all of the royal inbreds continuously plotted against him thinking he wanted power, which backfired in the most ridiculous way. Some of Wang Xuan's motivations were also very confusing. She tried to sit on two chairs at once - being Xiao Qi's wife and a member of the Wang family, which led to some questionable choices. One of those questionable choices was her fraternization with Helan Zhen, drinking and dancing with him, something that was completely inappropriate and put a wedge between her and Xiao Qi.

Zitan was one of the least interesting characters and the biggest waste of screen time. Tony Yang was an absolute eye candy to look at, but his good looks weren't able to save the character from being unbearable. The writers could've done so much with him instead of reducing him to exist solely to pine after Awu. And even that was comical because he had one chance at the beginning of the show to be with her and he completely squandered it. Even Awu had to spell it out to him why he was unworthy because he had no spine and couldn't care less about anything other than his childhood crush. And, that hasn't changed throughout the show, which later led to a lot of people getting killed just so he could get into Awu's pants.

Contrary to the criticism, Wang Xuan and Xiao Qi's big production in the throne room to get Zitan to confess his crimes was actually quite clever. I did not particularly enjoy her spending so much time with Zitan afterwards trying to save him, but I attribute it to her still caring about him as her childhood friend and not to some lingering romantic feelings. This was later confirmed in her conversation with her father when she told him that her love for Xiao Qi and Zitan was "different".

The most complex character was Wang Lin. Cynical, pragmatic, and unrelenting, he understood the complexities of ruling a country and the responsibility that came with it. Usurping the throne wasn't just his blind quest for power but to also remove an incompetent ruler and to bring stability to the empire. He was truly the only person who was fit to sit on the throne.

The drama did a good job at characterizing the relationship between Wang Xuan and Xiao Qi. This is probably due to the fact that the characters were played by mature actors and not idols. Their relationship had chemistry, meaningful interactions, mutual understanding, and respect. The drama did a good job at flushing out why Wang Xuan fell in love with Xiao Qi and let go of her childhood love for Zetan. Zetan represented her care-free childhood. Xiao Qi was mature love where she learned duty, loyalty, and the hardships of life. She appreciated Xiao Qi for his bravery and heroism and looked down on Zetan's continued callousness and immaturity. I appreciate the fact that the drama did not go down the cliche route creating a love triangle between the three of them.

The ending was ok, although I wanted to see stricter justice served against the characters who committed crimes. Overall, the drama was very entertaining for the first half and for the last 10-15 episodes, but it could've gone without some storylines. And, I definitely wanted to see more of Xiao Qi, instead of the abominable Helan Zhen arc and Zitan's forlorn expressions.