WARNING- Spoilers ahead! I think this drama should have a higher rating. I love historical dramas of this kind. Although 62 episodes is long for my taste, the pacing was really good. Sure it had a few draggy parts but the episodes still held my attention due to the fact that I was anxiously anticipating when the three leads would finally be able to leave Zhao state. The romance part is subtle but still good you can see chemistry between Hao Lan and Yi Ren. Even the Hao Lan and Lu Bu Wei chemistry was good. I was having second male lead syndrome in the beginning as I thought Hao Lan would end up with Lu Bu Wei since the synopsis wasn’t clear (good thing as it kept me in anticipation). Even after Hao Lan and Yi Ren got together it’s brilliant how the writers keep the viewers guessing if Hao Lan truly loves Yi Ren and not Lu Bu Wei anymore and that Yi Ren still truly loves Hao Lan after being king. My take was, in the end Hao Lan and Yi Ren truly had a deep love for each other without explicitly saying so and that was a happy ending for me. The only part that I did not like was the few episodes towards the end with Hao Lan and young Duke in love with her, but I guess plot was needed to spark the ambition of the young Ying Zheng ( good acting by the way and pleasantly surprised he plays Uncle Wu Zhu in Joy of Life). I was not liking how Ying Zheng was temperamental as I wanted him to be like Yi Ren but then that temperament fits the personality of how a fearless and great king Qin Shi Huang should be. All the other actors played their characters well. As for the technicals, cinematography, costumes and OST are excellent. Overall, this drama should have a higher rating. I have seen only 2 episodes of Yanxi Palace and dropped it so I don’t know what the deal is with comparison due to having the same actors, maybe I should continue to watch it to find out. But this drama I highly recommended, give this drama a chance and watch until the end.