I rarely write reviews but I truly loved this drama. The premise of the drama being a historical crime solving storyline was really unique. You really fall in love with all the characters in the drama and I even respect the character of Yan Shi Fan because he really was just truly despicable. The women characters in this drama are strong and independent--love that. But my favorite character has to be General Qi's wife who had a very brief but impactful appearance in the drama. She was just so kickass.

A large part of why I adored this drama is Allen Ren's acting. At first, I was put off by how stone-cold and angry he looked all the time but it makes sense because he is an Imperial Guard. I really began to change my mind after watching his amazing micro-expressions that bring the character of Lu Yi to life. The way he begins to fall in love with Jin Xia is really adorable because he goes from stone-faced and furrowed brows to very slight smiles here and there. His expressions were often really on point and I replayed a lot of his scenes because of how nuanced they were. It is also really cute to see how Jin Xia begins to change his heart. I am officially an Allen Ren stan after this and plan on checking out his other dramas.

Seven Tan also did a great job playing a spunky bailiff who is strong-willed and stands her ground. The energy from her acting was great and her anguish was also conveyed well. I really like how youthful she was in the drama. My favorite thing about her is how sparkly her eyes are so when Lu Yi and Jin Xia make eye contact its really captivating. I think the romance was developed well between the leads although some may argue it is "slow" but I think the budding interactions between our leads were still cute and significant to watch and made it even better when they finally confessed to each other.

Overall, the storyline is well-developed and I did not feel like there was any filler episodes. The development of the plot from a cute rivalry between Lu Yi and Jin Xia over a missing map to a greater corruption conspiracy in the palace was well done. All the cases they investigated were relevant and all tied back together. However, I will say that the CGI was very whack and it was pretty obvious when a green screen was being used but that must be a budget thing and did not personally change how much I enjoyed the show. I would highly recommend this drama for people for people interested in strong female leads, historical dramas with a crime-solving aspect, palace corruption, and romance.

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