This is a wonderful show. There is a lot of the usual stuff happening and not really anything new but it is entertaining and sweet.
Character wise: I admit I actually loved young master Su even if his family was behind the Xie family’s fall. He is just so young, naive and adorable - and very, very cute, LOL. He is genuinely trying to help FL both out of love for her and also out of guilt because he knows his family and forced fiancé is behind a lot of her problems. My heart was hurting so much because of all the things he had to go through - I don’t remember feeling more sorry for any other side character I’ve ever seen. It’s the first time I have ever cried on behalf of a character that’s categorized as a villain - although I don’t see him as that. He really didn’t know what his uncle did and I really hate the idea that what your family does is also your responsibility - it’s an ancient way to look at life. I respect FL for recognising that, while keeping her distance to him since she doesn’t want to give him false hope. I loved the way he got to redeem himself (on behalf of his family).
Story wise: The story does get a bit draggy in the middle since the education of FL (at the Yun Jin Manor) is somewhat boring even if it is important in the sense of us seeing her become more and more skilled in the span of the 2 years she spends there. Afterwards there is a lot of business stuff that gets a bit draggy because the rivalry between FL and Yan Wen Xiu becomes quite repetitive - and I tend to lose interest in these things quickly. It’s not that the rivalry is irrelevant, it just gets boring to keep watching Wen Xiu lashing out at FL because of jealousy/inferiority and how she always gets away with doing evil - at least until the ending where everything is wrapped up and the evildoers punished.
Anyway the show picks up around episode 17-18 where it gets more exciting. I still think the competition gets too much screen time but they apparently wanted 40 episodes so they had to have something filling the episodes. That is why I cannot rate it 10/10 (sorry).
Acting wise: Young master Xie, who is actually the eldest daughter in the Xie family, is the best actress I have seen to pull off looking and acting like a man. Usually you will spot it in just a glance but here it took me a couple of seconds to be certain.
I love that there isn’t the usual “female childhood friend/fiancé” pestering ML most of the show. Those characters are the ones I hate the most. MG they don’t know when to stop.
I also love FLs friends (Yuan Xiang and Cheng Tian) who are truly friends without any alternative motives or grudges.
Another thing I would like to stress is the incredible beautiful clothes especially Prince Luo wears but overall the clothes are so much higher in quality than many other shows.
All actors in this show, show off their amazing skills and you can’t help getting invested in them all - even the villains.
So, if you love a somewhat lighthearted romantic comedy with a decent amount of drama - and very skilled actors - this is a “Must Watch”.