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It is true that I haven't seen a full fledged Chinese historical wuxia romance drama until I sat down and devoured 40 episodes of this series. I loved the storyline, the chance meeting between a fallen noble and an unlikely butcher's daughter warrior in a heroic, sweeping romance filled with traditional, not fantasy martial arts staged in a sea of political intrigue and mystery. What began with a fake - marriage - turned - true love then united together in the battlefields served with gritty realism for revenge and retribution makes great viewing and entertainment, more than that, it makes me appreciate the cinematography, snow cladded fields, frozen landscapes with the contrast of the warm and earthy Xigu Alley, its neighbors and shops.... to the cold, calculating scheming within the palace walls. I just love the chemistry between Zhang Linghe who portrayed the cold-hearted Marquis of Wu'an, Xie Zheng and the strong female protagonist, Fan Chang Yu, played by the effervescent Tian Xi Wei. Great acting along with prolific writing and direction has made this become one of the highest rated series so far, still breaking records in viewership, helped along by the streaming giant Netflix. It will take an extraordinary effort to eclipse this series, for me.