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This is definitely one of those turn your brain off and just enjoy the parade of pretty people floating across your screen. The plotholes are big enough to fit an airplane, nothing actually makes sense and people just conveniently appear in places sprouting key pieces of info that ultimately either brings the leads together, make them seem incredibly smart or the FL’s magical hound nose picks up some randomass scent that outs one of her suitors’ dastardly schemes.

And yet somehow I’m enjoying this, mostly because I’m a sucker for HeYu, his cleft chin, his sassy smirks, dramatic coughing fits and all the cringey yet mesmerizing bath scenes. I also love the banter between him and his little sidekick. That said, I wish they picked a different voice actor for him, it sounds like he’s constantly whispering. I disliked this voice actor in Blossom and he’s more ill-fitted for HeYu.

As for Meng Ziyi…I’m a fan of her in variety shows, she’s just naturally hilarious and undeniably gorgeous. As an actress, she definitely fit the role of a beauty that has all these princes chasing after her. And I suppose it’s good that she has a superpower nose that helps deus ex machina her way into solving all schemes against her because otherwise I don’t buy her as this genius manipulator. Still, I’m enjoying her and HeYu’s chemistry together (tbh, I don’t know if they have chemistry in the show or if I’m just shipping them bc of their appearances on variety shows and bts clips).

This is a shallow but enjoyable summer show. Don’t think too hard, don’t expect too much and just enjoy the pretty leads making doe eyes at each other while all the side character fall to ruin as they get their Chinese censorship dictated punishment for their inexplicable crimes.

But she's not of that family, going by the reincarnation. Which begs the question on WHO exactly she is - is she the original Gu daughter who killed herself (since she does her incense stuff and knows the Imperial family), or is she the not-drowned Shen daughter (who was naive and not really worldly before the drowning). Or is she supposed to be a mix between them?

She doesn't owe the Wen Duke's family anything if she's reborn, she's protecting them because she needs their power structure BUT she's not their daughter. They cared for the original girl, not this one. All her powerplays make no sense in this POV. She's doing it because she used to do it as a Prince's wife.

But then this again makes no sense - it's been three years since she killed herself, she HAS to have known all the princes, they're not younglings. She HAS to have known the Crown Prince too (even if she didn't care much for him at the time). There's not a lot of logic into her going to test each and every one of them. Not in the drama, anyway. Maybe in the novel she forgot most of her previous life or something so that she needs to learn things anew. But the drama doesn't imply that at all. She also remembers everyone her body's original knew and the secret codes between the family (that she knew WHY?! Since the original body's conscience wasn't really smart enough to use them safely).

However you're looking at it, there are too many fails of logic in this one.

Anyway, it's pretty and there are good scenes and it moves fast (sometimes too fast). For me, TBH, the support characters and the secondary leads carry the drama. So far anyway.

Loved everything about this awesome drama from the superlative performances from the main leads and talented support cast to the spectacular fighting scenes and all round great story. I so hope there will be a season 2 as the ending leaves open this possibility. Yang Yang was so impressive in this drama and so suits these type of historical roles and special mention to Alen Feng whose performance was also brilliant and a great counter to Yang Yang. Very disappointing to see such a low rating for such a great show as definitely needs to be much higher. 10/10 for me.

They both survive - even in the official ending. After Linglong becomes sect leader, she is told she has two visitor - Zhan Rifei and Ding Zhaohui. Those are the aliases Zhan Zhao and Bai Yutang used the first time they introduced themselves to her.

8.5/10. Watched for Yang Yang. The story is okay but what I like about this drama is the fighting scenes, really good

Agree with the Samurai X vibes. Zhan Zhao also uses the back of his sword not to kill and Kenshin has this double edge sword to prevent him also to kill.

Thematically, this is a much deeper and richer script than I had initially given it credit for being. Certainly more sophisticated than your average so-called idol drama. I find the gaslighting around in/justice rather fascinating. The mental gymnastics indulged by the perps and their accomplices certainly has one reeling. There's obviously a hierarchy of virtues at play and justice ranks pretty low in the scheme of things. Things like family honour/interests take precedence over everything. In the case of the Jin family, they pay lip service to talent with the Suwen Assembly but really there's a fair bit of gatekeeping going on. I felt a Mozart-Salieri moment there a la Amadeus. Poor Jin Xuewen. He certainly wasn't a paragon of virtue but the Jin family could have done a lot more to support him and Bai Yutang after the death of their parents. Their "guy", the one they handpicked for the top job was the monster they help create. He'd peaked early and lived most of his adult life knowing that he was a lesser toxicologist to his dead cousin.

Poor Bai Yutang. Being constantly gaslighted by so-called relatives. He should burn the entire place down. An institution that was created to save lives is now complicit in cover-up and murder.

Also, the part about him “protecting“ the bad guys from the sex slave trade when in reality he’s not protecting them, he’s protecting the evidence that they hold within them so that they can testify in court. That’s the epitome of justice! If you kill off all the evidence, how the hell are you going to bring down the conspiracy? The fact that ML runs on a completely different moral ground than those in the more show arts world should be fairly recognizable. After all, he’s basically like a cop and a detective all rolled into one. He’s there to look for evidence, for clues not to just kill people, even if they are in the wrong or doing heinous things. The more evidence he can gather against them, the faster the court can judge them and execute them.

I am disappointed by the way ordinary people, who have never held positions of extreme importance, such as judges and court officers, tend to see ZZ's thinking as moralistic or something like that. How do you ordinary people think a justice officer should act? By killing everyone? No matter how heinous the crime, there are still laws. I saw people commenting that he shouldn't have protected the guy who...He kidnapped women to take to the pavilion, but man, that was his job, to gather evidence, and the bastard in question was proof that the definition of JUSTICE is truly fulfilled. That's it.The goal of the drama. If you don't like how real and effective justice handles cases, you shouldn't be watching dramas about justice, but rather about vigilantes. If that's the case, there's a drama for you.Very good, with an actor who looks a lot like Yang Yang, he's Taiwanese, and his name is Had I Not See the Sun.

I got it !
With recent MDL rating, "No romance" or "Humble romance" with 7.0+ is the new 8.0+ rating for costume drama. 😍

A lot of people are asking
Why doesn't ZZ kill his attackers?
Because it is - Judge Bao's Philosophy
________________________________________
Why Doesn't Zhan Zhao Kill His Attackers? ⚔️⚖️
Seeing a lot of people in the comments asking why our "Imperial Cat" always holds back from delivering a fatal blow to the people trying to take his head. Why leave them alive when they are literally out to assassinate him?

It all comes down to Judge Bao’s Philosophy.

Zhan Zhao isn't just another lawless rogue wandering the jianghu. He is a 4th-rank imperial guard who serves under Bao Zheng—the most famously incorruptible, legally strict judge in Chinese lore.

The Rule of Law vs. Vigilante Justice: Judge Bao’s entire mission is built on the belief that no one is above the law, and justice must be absolute and decided by a court, not the blade of a sword.

Upholding the Code: If Zhan Zhao plays executioner in the middle of a forest or a rain-slicked alley, he becomes no better than the criminals he's trying to stop. He strips away the chance for a fair trial, which is exactly how you uncover the larger, deeper conspiracies.

True Chivalry (Xia): His restraint isn't a sign of weakness; it's the ultimate show of control and discipline. He possesses peerless martial arts skills, but he chooses to apprehend or disarm rather than slaughter because he answers to a higher moral standard.

Granted, we are on episode 6 and he hasn’t actually dragged a single person back to Kaifeng court yet—they usually just scurry away or jump over a wall the second he drops them—but the intent is there! He isn't being soft; he's just keeping his hands clean for the justice system... even if the criminals run too fast to experience it. ⚖️

Yes Zhan Zhao is Justice Bao's protector and henchman.
The plot has to do with Taizong emperor's ascent; allegedly by murdering his brother Taizu. Enemy kingdom Western Xia is using "evidence" of this to destabilize the empire. Xiangyang Wang is the mastermind. Zhan Zhao is tasked to uncover all the people involved in this conspiracy. Seems quite a straightforward plot to me.

Haters are working over timed to rate this drama low.

I will never stop begging the administration of this site to please remove the option that you can rate a drama that Is not even finished!!!!!!! Some people rate low even before is release like others rate high before it releases. Some people are rating even when is two episodes out and some are just haters or people who don't care how the plot developed and rate high because they are fanatics (Yes fanatics not fans there's a level of difference in the delusion.) of the actors!! Some people actually take it seriously of how the dramas are rated or reviewed!!! Some we have experience and are smarted than take the rating serious and because of the reasons I explain above!!!! Where can we gather signatures to request the removal of that option! And yes I have asked about it in the forum meant for requests and also about making the number of blocking members unlimited.

Example Mygoodreads doesn't let you rate a book that is not released or you haven't read.

Yangyang's action scenes never disappoint. I'm here for the fighting scenes.
Also, I didn't expect Zhanzhao and Linglong to have this much chemistry. Even when this drama is not a romantic one, I can feel their chemistry.