I think Hu YiTian should stick to costume dramas. I've not seen him put in a decent performance in any modern drama since A Love So Beautiful (& his role in that was not very challenging). However, he seems quite at home in a period piece with an engaging story (Handsome Siblings). Blossoms in Adversity, however, does not expand his limited range.

Zhang JingYi plays Hua Zhi, the eldest daughter in an artistocratic family very reminiscent of the classic Red Chamber Jia's. But rather than studing Lessons for Women, she is a devoted STEM student, spending her time inventing & planning her own business, inspired by her grandfather who took her traveling on sea adventures as a child.

The Hua family's downfall comes when all of their property is seized by the govt in an act of vengence against the outspoken court minister & family patriarch. All male family members over the age of 10 are arrested & exiled to the North, horrifically tearing the family apart. When your whole existance previously revolved on the support of men, Hua Zhi's independent character blasts through her mother's lament that she can't live without her disgraced husband: "Which woman isn't living by herself?" refering to how women have had near total control of managing a household full of staff while neglected by their husbands working outside the home.

And manage the household is what Hua Zhi does, taking over from an aunt who was too entrenched in old-school management & selling off the maids for quick cash. Likewise, Gu YanXi (Hu YiTian) takes a new position as chief of the Imperial Security Bureau, & whose uncle, the Emperor, equates job success with body count, encouraging YanXi to kill people merely as a show of authority. Even though YanXi was ordered to physically depose the Hua Family, he tries to mitigate the effects & ensure the safety of the clan.

The story develops with the relationship of Zhi & YanXi as she continues to fight for the livelihood of the Hua family, not only for the women & children remaining in the capital, but also for the banished men. Palace intrigue deepens as YanXi fights to protect the emperor.

Although the drama started well it lost momentum after the half way mark. Zhi & YanXi aren't able to spend much time together but their two storylines frequently intersected each other. They manage to solve a mystery from YanXi's past & battle corruption that threatened the Hua women's newfound success. However, the character developments came to a standstill. We don't get to understand the emperor's motivations much better & the political conflicts remain very superficial. Plus, I didn't think it was possible, but Hua Zhi's character started to annoy me; her self-righteousness was becoming unbelievable & there was no depth to her struggle. And what's with all the hysterical wailing? The crying anguish scenes of secondary characters are nothing but cringey. I'd have to say I was actually becoming disinterested as the story got more & more conventional & predictable, right to the end.

Overall, the drama started off strong & impressive, but unfortunately quickly fizzled to a mediocre end. It had all the elements of a complex storyline but was very superficial with no grit or edge to the storytelling. Performances were average to over-the-top; none were standouts.